Bound by Blood
by Under the Setting Sun
Summary: The Sith Empire is spreading like a disease. The only hope for the galaxy comes in the form of a nine year old boy. But what the Galaxy, or the boy don't see is that the only defeating the person in front of them is nothing more than treating the symptoms, when the disease is far worse than they imagined.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This story is about a child who has to fight his father, who has fallen to the dark side. I know, big shock, but the difference is the origins of the child. I'm also going to throw it out there that there will be errors. Both in grammar and punctuation. I tried enlisting a beta reader before, but none of the people I asked wanted to help me. So bear with me, and the mistakes I make. Please try to enjoy the story._

On a jungle planet deep in the Unknown Regions of space, there is a battle raging. On one side a group of mercenaries with lightsaber-resistant armor and viborblades, and on the other side fallen jedi. The mercenaries were being overrun, and driven back. The jedi were slaughtering the mercenaries.

"My lord, we have reached the village in question, but the woman in question isn't there." A male fallen jedi said.

"She's there Darth Zant, She's most likely trying to sneak out without being noticed." The leader of the Jedi army said.

"Darth Cauis!" A female Jedi said, running up to the pair.

"What is it Cortana?" Cauis said. Cortana is five feet three inches tall, long flowing blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and pale white skin that hugs her slender frame.

"My scouts have found the woman." Cortana said to Cauis. Cauis is six feet tall, green eyes, and molted grey skin that hangs off his massive frame.

"Where?" Cauis asked.

"See that mountain." Cortana said, pointing off into the distance.

Both Darth Cauis and Darth Zant looked in the direction that Cortana was point. "How did she get all the up there so quickly?" Zant asked.

"She must have had help." Cortana said.

"That's impossible!" Zant exclaimed.

"Not impossible. I sense another jedi nearby." Cauis said. Cauis closed his eyes, and made an attempt to identify who the interloper is. _Hello, Lord Cauis._ The jedi greeted Darth Cauis when he touched the other Jedi's mind. "I have no idea who the interloper is, but go take care of him Zant."

Both Darth Cauis and Cortana went after the woman in question, while Darth Zant went to take care of the rogue Jedi. Zant found his target first. The jedi was surround by other dark jedi, but he was far superior to them. The jedi systematically killed all the dark jedi around him, and then turn his attention towards Zant. "What your master didn't think it feasible to come himself?"

"To him, you're a nobody, which means that your death shall be quick." Zant said.

"Well then, come on. I don't have all day." the jedi said.

Zant drew his saber, and activated the weapon. The red blade sprang to life, and Zant attacked the jedi. Zant didn't know it, but he was outclasses before the fight even began. The jedi had Zant the defensive as soon as he starting swinging his saber. Zant tried to finding an opening, and when he did Zant went to bring the saber down on the jedi's neck. The jedi seized the opportunity and buried his saber in Zant's abdomen to the hilt. Zant fell over dead, but the jedi was delayed. And it would cost him dearly. By the time the jedi had caught up to Darth Cauis, a woman was sitting on the ground at his feet, mortally wounded. Before Cauis could act there was a scream.

"Mother!"

Cauis and the jedi turned to see a young boy, about nine years old, come charging out of a cave on the mountaintop. "Not only were you unfaithful, but you had a child by one of these mangy dogs!" Cauis growled.

"I turned my back on you because of what you became. And the child is-" the woman said, but Cauis had balled his hand into a fist, using the force to close off her windpipe. Before the jedi could act the child had ripped the lightsaber out of Darth Cauis hand, and threw it at him. Unbeknownst to Cauis the child had Force powers. Through the Force, the child had guided the lightsaber to Cauis face. Darth Cauis tried to dodge the flying saber, but was too slow.

The saber made contact with his face, shearing off skin, muscle, and bone. The jedi could see that the attack had exposed Darth Cauis brain. The attack didn't even kill Darth Cauis. He drew on the Force to heal the wound, or at more appropriately, he feed off the wound, making him stronger.

The jedi could see the wound was beginning to heal, to a certain extent. Darth Cauis drew on the Force to attack the child, but what the jedi couldn't account for was how much raw Force power the child had. The child had flung his hands up into time to block the attack. And to both Darth Cauis and the jedi surprise, the child had rebuffed the attack and generated a Force Push so powerful, it knocked Darth Cauis of the cliff.

"Theseus," the woman wheezed.

After the shock of seeing how powerful the child was, Theseus had come to his senses. He jogged over to the woman, and knelt down next to her. "Don't talk." he said, as he channeled the Force to heal the wound. Theseus is five feet ten inches tall, brown eye, brown hair cut to the scalp, brown skin, and an athletic frame.

"It's too late for that, I need to you to take the boy, and leave this place. If any of the others find out what he did, they will kill him." the woman said.

"How are they going to figure out what the boy did?" he asked.

The woman pointed behind Theseus. When he turned around he saw a crowd of people, with primitive weapons, gathering in the mouth of the cave. Theseus heard another noise. He turned, to see that the boy was crying. "Where should I take him?" Theseus asked.

"Take him far from here. If Darth Cauis gets his hands on him, then it will be the end of everything." The woman said.

"Where should I take him?" he asks.

"Yavin 4." The woman said, and then her head tilted to the side.

Theseus closed the woman's eyes, stood up, and then turned to the boy. "What's your name son?"

"My name… is Ashono Vhett." I say through tears.

"Okay. Where we're going Vhett isn't a popular name, so how about we change it to Katarn." he said.

"Why?" I ask.

"I know we just met tonight, but I'm going have to ask you to trust me. The culture that claims Vhett as one of their own, is a bitter rival of the Jedi." he said.

"The Jedi sat back as my mom and family was killed!" I spit at Theseus.

"True, but are you going to disobey your mom's dying wish?" he asked.

"No." I say just above a whisper.

"Come with me. We have a lot of ground to cover before Darth Cauis' forces catch up to us." Theseus says.

I pull off a piece of my mom's armor, and then followed Theseus. "You know that won't be of any use to you." he said.

"It's not about use, it's about remembrance." I say.

I see Theseus shrug his shoulders, and we continue walking. At the bottom of the mountain, Cortana and some sith troopers found Darth Cauis in mess. "Is he dead?" one of the troopers asked.

Cortana looked up the mountain, and saw that it sloped to a forty-five degree angle. "No. Darth Cauis is meditating. Let's get him to a Bacta tank." she said.

The troopers had pulled out a stretcher. Cortana, using the force, had lifted Cauis' body into the air, and the troopers had placed the stretcher beneath him. Then Cortana lowered the body onto the stretcher. The five of them walked over to the waiting skiff, and then rode it back to their flagship off world. Planet side, both Theseus and I have had a rough time trying to get off the mountain. We had to dodge various traps, and jump down from ledge to ledge. At one point we were attacked by wild animals, but these animals were weak-willed. I used the Force to tell them to leave us alone.

"How long have you been able to do that?" Theseus asked, after the last of the animals had left.

"What?" I asked, when we started walking again.

"How long have you been using the Force to control animals?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know. At least four or five years know." I say.

Theseus is in shock that I am able to use a very powerful force technique. On occasion I would see Theseus turn and look at me. After he was satisfied with his knowing I was still right behind him, he would face forward again.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" I ask

"Another question. How did you learn to close yourself off to the Force?" he asked.

"I don't know. I've been able to do it since I was really young." I say.

"How old are you?" Theseus asks.

"Nine." I say.

Theseus stops in his tracks, and turns to stare at me in shocked horror. "What?" I asked

"You're nine years old, and you have that much raw Force power?" he asks.

"So." I say.

Theseus contemplates something, and then we continue walking. And to my great pleasure, the rest of the trip is made in silence. I think on many things. The death of my mom and family. Leaving this planet behind, and the life I've known. These things begin to overwhelm me, and I begin to cry. Theseus stops and lets me cry myself out. "I know it's hard to leave behind everything that you have known your entire life, but you're no longer safe here. So you must leave and go somewhere that's relatively safe." Theseus says.

I give Theseus a blank stare, and continue walking. It takes us half an hour before we reach a tiny star ship. _Can't really call it tiny, but its small compared to most vessels that travel the stars._ I think, as we are boarding the ship. Theseus hits a button to raise the landing ramp, and seal the ship.

"We're going to be enter cyrosleep because he have a long distance to travel." Theseus says.

"That and a lack of food?" I ask.

"That too." he confirms.

I follow Theseus and watch him as he sits down in the captain's chair, and tap buttons and turn knobs. When the ship lifts into the air, I take a seat as not to fall over. "Sorry about that, she usually isn't that rough when taking off." Theseus says with a chuckle.

"I'm not exactly sure about the fascination people have with giving their ships, or vehicles a female persona, so I won't bother to ask." I say.

Theseus contemplates this a beat. "I… never… thought about that." he chuckles.

I watch as the ship leaves the planet, and enters space. I watch as Theseus' hands become a blur on the console. The next thing I know where there was once blackness, I see nothing but a pale shade of blue, with the occasional structural fragments passing by. "We just entered hyperspace. It will take us a week until we get to our destination." Theseus says.

"What's on Yavin IV?" I ask.

"There's an active Jedi conclave there. Actually the conclave is on the moon that orbits Yavin IV. Our main temple is on planet in the Galactic Core." Theseus says. "If you will follow me, I'll get you hooked up to the machine for cyrosleep."

Theseus and I left the cockpit, and head towards the back. Off the main compartment is a room with the cyrosleep chambers. Theseus enters a command on one of the chambers. "Go ahead and enter the first one."

I lay down in the first chamber, and then glass panel slides into place sealing me in. I start to overreact, but I begin to slow my breathing. A few seconds later my consciousness is being pulled into the abyss. Theseus takes in my features. I have tan skin, an athletic frame, dirty blond hair that stops at my shoulders, and if he remembered correctly green eyes.

B.b.B.

Aboard the Chimera, flag ship of Darth Cauis' forces-

Cortana was finishing up the Bacta tank settings so Darth Cauis could get back to full health quickly, but there has be a small problem.

"Cortana." General Ordona said.

"Yes, general." Cortana said, turning to face Ordona. General Ordona is five feet tall, hazel eyes, pale white skin that hugs her muscular frame.

"The repairs to Darth Cauis body will be complete, but the damage done by the lightsaber cannot be repaired by the Bacta tank alone. We're going to have to use a synthetic metal to complete the healing process." Ordona said.

 _Lord Cauis never specified what could be used for the healing process._ Cortana thinks. "Use the metal."

"Yes, Cortana." Ordona said, and then went to prep the metal for the surgery.

B.b.B.

The Yavin system, one week later-

I wake up from cyrosleep, and I feel sluggish. I want to move fast, but I can't. I think about my new found powers, and I start channeling the force to my muscles.

"Here. Let me help you with that." Theseus say, pulling the glass panel back. "Drink this."

I look up to see some kind of concoction in his hands. Through the Force, I try to understand if this drink is a threat. "If I wanted to kill you Ashono, I would have left you on that planet."

I sense that the drink isn't going to harm me, so I take the drink and take a sip. Whatever I was doing to get my muscles back in shape didn't even put a dent in it. Whatever was in that drink got my body back in shape, and my muscles ready to use. I down the rest of the drink in one gulp, and hand the cup back to Theseus. We make our way back to the cockpit, and I curl up in the passenger chair behind Theseus. I hear Theseus communicating with someone, but my mind is a million mile away. Until a week ago I thought I was a normal boy. Now I find out that I have some kind of special powers, and that somehow something, or someone is depending on my survival.

 _How did this happen? Why is my mom dead, but I'm still alive?_ I think, but my thoughts were interrupted by something, or someone else. _Why me? Why did I have to harm that boy?_ I don't have a clue who the owner of these thoughts are, but I get the sense that it's a girl. I watch through the window as we make our descent through the moon's atmosphere.

 _A/N: This story will have names from the main universe, but any actual known characters will not show up. So I might use the first name Luke, Kyle, Anakin, or even last names like Katarn and Skywalker, but actual characters like Luke Skywalker, Kyle Katarn, or Anakin Skywalker will not show up._


	2. Chapter 2

Darth Cauis' surgery and Bacta treatment went smoothly, albeit, the metal that was used varied slightly from his skin tone. Cortana was meditating, stretching out in the force attempting to find the person responsible for deforming her master. But I was too far out of reach for her to find my signature in the Force, but she was able to find others who would prove a hindrance to the supremacy of the Sith Empire. Cortana ended her mediation, and went to find General Ordona.

B.b.B.

Unknown Region of space-

At the very edge of Unknown Region of space, the part that bordered no man's land, there was a ship carrying a shipment of slaves and resources. The ship was approaching its destination for a jump beyond the borders of this galaxy. The ship reached its destination, and then jumped to a point outside our galaxy.

B.b.B.

Moon orbiting Yavin IV-

Theseus sets the ship down on a landing pad. The doors to the pad shut, and I can see a few droids and some hoses. I'm in awe of the situation, given that I grew up on a jungle planet for the brief existence in this galaxy. We exit the ship, and then made our way over to the bay doors. Before we got to the doors I felt the presence of other people, jedi to be more precisely, on the other side of the door. I'm square up expecting trouble, but when doors open it's to a large group of about twelve men and women in robes. I watched in tense silence as the group starts talking to Theseus.

"Welcome back Theseus. We take it your journey was uneventful." the robed figure at the head of the group asked.

"The journey wasn't a problem, even with the child in tow. The problem is what has occurred over the past six months while I was in the Unknown Regions." Theseus said.

"We will discuss that later. You must be hungry." another robed figure said.

"That is true. How about you Ashono. Are you hungry?" Theseus asks.

I watch the group for a moment longer. The group is made up of men and women ranging from middle age, to their twilight years. "Yeah. I'm hungry." I say relaxing.

"How old are you son?" a female in a silver robe asked.

"Nine." I say.

"Theseus. You know what the law says." The leader of the group admonished.

"This is a special case." Theseus says.

"How special?" the woman in the silver robes asks.

"See for yourself." Theseus says.

The group of men and women closes their eyes, and then almost immediately opens them again. "How is this child that powerful?" another woman in black robes asks.

"That isn't a question we should be asking. The question is how did we miss him?" asks the lead male again.

"Master Megara, these are questions to ponder another time. The morning meditation session is almost at hand." The woman in the silver robes said.

"Master Kallini, take Theseus and Ashono to get breakfast, while the rest of us will attend the session. After they are fed, take Ashono on a tour of the temple." Megara said.

"Yes, Master Megara." Kallini said, pressing her fist on her chest. "If you will follow me, I will take you to the cafeteria."

Theseus and I fall in step behind Master Kallini. Because of my short stature I have to take three steps for everyone of Master Kallini's. I watch the sun sparkles off of Master Kallini's silver robes, and it reminds me of all the times I was out by the lake and I smile. I hear voices of the students in the temple, and they're all buzzing about the new student that was going to be joining them from this day forward. I'm tickled because I remember what Theseus said over a week ago before I left home. _The culture that claims Vhett as one of their own, is a bitter rival of the jedi._ Theseus words echo in my mind. I wonder how they are going to feel training my _kind_.

Just as we're entering the cafeteria, I hear that girl again. _Why must I suffer this torture? Why can't I move past this pain?_ I look around, as if the girl was nearby. "I wouldn't worry about her." Theseus says, he too heard the plea.

"Why do you say that?" I ask.

"She is too dangerous to help, and is beyond saving." Kallini said.

"Yet you haven't banished her from the temple." I shot back.

"That girl is a danger to the world. Kicking her out of the temple in her current condition would be a severe breach of protocol of the Jedi code." Kallini said, stopping in midstride to face me.

Using the Force I reach out to the girl, in attempt to ascertain the truth of the matter. My probe must have scared her because I can feel her cower and run away. "If the girl is so dangerous, why is she allowed to wander the halls without a babysitter, or locked away in the dungeons beneath the temple? And I don't remember seeing any settlements on this moon when we landed." I challenge.

Master Kallini raised her eyebrows at my challenge, but instead of answering she turned on her heels and walked away. "I know this is all new to you, but please don't challenge every Master on a whim." Theseus said.

"Really? Don't challenge them?" I balk.

"Yeah." he said.

"That little girl is only a danger to this temple and its inhabitants because the Jedi Masters are unwilling to help her. She isn't beyond saving. She only needs a push in the right direction. She needs love, encouragement, and to be told that accidents happen." I say.

I walk over to the food line, and grab a tray. The woman behind the counter serves me breakfast, which is food I have never seen before, but I'm hungry. So I walk over to the nearest table, and sit down to eat. Theseus gets his meal, and then joins me. We eat breakfast in silence. After we finish eating, we dispose of the tray, silverware, plates, and bowls. We exit the cafeteria through the door on far side of the room.

When we stepped through the do, it was to an outdoor sanctuary of sorts. I see a stream, a few animals, and a few stone made structures with benches on them. It is definitely breath taking, but seeing as how I grew up on a jungle planet, this is nothing new. I see on one of stone structures a small class meditating, but something about the way the animals are moving is telling that a predator is in the area.

"Theseus." I say through clinched teeth.

"What?" Theseus asks.

I start to draw on the force trying find the beast, and I do. I sense that it has a weak-willed, but it has a lot of mass. And razor sharp teeth.

"Ashono." Theseus says frantically.

I look up at Theseus, and then I see the class staring at me. "Theseus. You see those animals by that class." I say.

"Yeah." Theseus says.

"They are being stalked by a predator nearby." I say calmly.

"And." Theseus says.

"If that beast gets within two feet of that class." I say without finishing the statement.

Theseus lets what I say sink in, and then looked at the class. The animals were moving closer to them. What I didn't notice was that the class had stopped meditating, and were staring at us. More appropriately I saw about twenty eyes staring at me. I see the animals start to move towards the temple, passing by the class on the stone structure.

"Theseus! Get that class to safety!" I shout and then charge, headlong, towards the approaching predator. The look on Theseus' face said that he wanted to argue, but I didn't give him the chance. I run into the herd, and I open myself up to the force to heighten my reflexes, and attempt to make the predator start to turn away. Then I realized that I will have a bit of a problem. The creature isn't as weak-willed I originally thought, and when I get a look at the predator I realized that this wasn't just any kind of predator. Back at the stone structure Theseus and the teacher both look in my direction and see the problem. It wasn't just any kind of predator, it was one of the moons rare super predators that towered over me. At thirty feet tall, or what I judge to be the creature's height, I knew this feat of strength was going to take me a few extra minutes. As my battle with the creature was beginning, Theseus and the teacher were getting the class to safety. The Jedi council was coming out the door after the class had entered the building, but Theseus remained with the council to assist if necessary.

The creature was a biped, so I ran underneath the creature, dodging its feet. I find a tree, and scramble up it quickly as my short legs will allow me. As I was turning to face the creature, it was about to bite down on the branch I was current perched on. I tap into the Force, and leap over onto the creature. Back on the ground Master Megara is a few holocrons short of losing his mind.

"What is that boy doing?" Megara asked.

"Trying to get himself killed!" Kallini exclaimed.

"Actually, Ashono is attempting to use an old jedi power that I haven't seen for a few years until I ran into him." Theseus said.

"Which one?" another master asked.

"See for yourself." Theseus said.

There was a moment of silence before a voice from behind the group spoke. It was the master in black robes. "He's attempting to use the force to control the beast."

"On a super predator! The child is more brash then we thought." Megara said.

"Look! The creature is starting to slow down. It's becoming more docile." Kallini said.

At first the masters and Theseus saw the creature thrashing around trying to throw me off of it, but it started to slow down and becoming less violent. In a minute the beast stopped fighting me altogether. Just as it started to walk away, I back-flipped of the creature landing gracefully into a crouched position. Before I could even begin to move I felt a new pair of eyes. I looked up suddenly and I saw her. The girl I keep hearing in my mind. And I hear her again. _How did you do that?_ She asked with a stunned expression on her face. Judging from this distance she's about four feet ten inches tall, shiny shoulder length red hair that flared out at the bottom, hazel eyes, and pale white skin.

I see her and I almost see my mom, and I begin to tear up. _I've been able to do that for some – wait come back!_ I say, as the girl turned and ran back into the academy. I dry my tears, and then make my way back towards the masters and Theseus. Judging by the amount of tension radiating off of them I'm in trouble.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" Megara ask in a very stern voice.

I stop in mid stride, and stare at Master Megara. After a few seconds I look at Theseus, and then looked back at the head master. "No." I said cautiously.

"You could have been killed. None of the master on the council are willing to go up against Stnari." Megara said.

"Sorry, Master Megara. I won't do that again." I say with a bow.

"Theseus." Kallini said.

"Yes, Master Kallini." Theseus said.

"You will be the boy's trainer," she said.

"Yes, master." Theseus said.

The two of us watched as the twelve master left. When I sensed that they were a considerable distance away I asked Theseus. "I take the jedi aren't big on giving praise?" I asked.

"As your _instructor_ , well done. You did what was necessary with what you had." Theseus said, as we were walking back into the academy. I want to begin my training, but I also want to go to, whatever they have that for a library.

"It's on the second floor." Theseus says.

"I'm sorry, what?" I ask.

"The library. It's on the second floor. I have to head to the training room to get you into the system." Theseus says.

"Thanks." I said.

I make my way over to the stairs, and then as I'm climbing the marble staircase, I turn inward. I bring up that girl again, in mind. Something about her, whether it's her hair, her shiny skin, or her hazel eyes. With my mind I reach out to the girl. As the last time I tried to reach out to her, she ran away and closed her mind off to me. I shake my head at her unwillingness to speak to me. I enter the library, and I stop in my tracks. I was expecting room full of bookshelves, but instead I see a big room filled with a lot of electronic equipment far beyond what I was expecting.

"This… is definitely not what I was expecting." I say still standing in the doorway of the library.


	3. Chapter 3

As I'm standing in the doorway, I guess a librarian passes me. "Is there a problem?" he asks.

"Yeah. I'm not used to seeing all this technology. I'm used to seeing books, and things of that sorts." I say.

"Books are nice, but they are archaic. They fall apart, and deteriorate after a while. Electronic data doesn't deteriorate, is easier to categorize, and you can store more of it in the least amount of space." he says.

"Can you show me how to use the devices here, please?" I ask, not wanting to draw out the debate about the differences between electronic and hardcopy data. We walk over to the nearest device, or computer as the librarian called it, and he gives me a quick rundown on how to bring up data. After the brief tutorial, he returns to his rounds as I bring up my first entry: Stnari. A super predator on the moon of Yavin IV. It's a biped reptile that can grow up to fifty feet tall, albeit, a creature of that size hasn't been spot in over a century. My search from there branched out to known associates of the Jedi. I want to find the man that killed my mother.

My search didn't get too far because most of the data I find is classified, or off limit. I get a notice that I have to access the archives in Master Megara's office to get that information. I log out, and exit the library. As I'm exiting, I see a staff member pass by.

"Excuse me." I say.

"Yes, child." she says.

I look at her sideways, but ask my question anyways. "Where is the training room?" I ask.

"It's on the far side of grounds. Take the elevator down two floors." she say.

"Thank you." I say, and then go looking for an elevator. When I find an elevator, I take it down two floors but it actually dumps me into a hanger. I look around, while thinking that that woman had no idea what she were talking about.

"Looking for the training room?" a voice from behind me asks.

I turn to see a mechanic walking up from behind me. I nod my head. "They easiest way to the training room from where you were is through the hanger. That elevator on the north side in the corner will take you to the training room." the mechanic said pointing to the elevator.

"Thanks." I said, and make my way over to the elevator. As I make my way over to the elevator, I'm in awe of all the ships that are docked in the hanger. All shapes, sizes, and different colors. And to think, just over a week ago I thought only animals were the most diverse things in this galaxy. If ships are this different, how diverse can the galaxy be? I step onto the elevator and take it to the end of the line, and it deposits me into the training center. I step out and I'm amazed by what I see. The room has numerous options, and surprisingly it's all indoors. I see a dueling ring, an obstacle course, I see students training with their laser swords while using droids that occasionally shot lasers at them, just to name a few. _Now I have seen everything._ I think. I hear a commotion coming from the dueling ring, and I make my way over there.

I take my time as I'm walking over to the ring, taking in the sights. There were a few spills and mishaps on the obstacle course, which elicited a chuckle from me, but what really got my attention were the students with the droids. I'm not exactly sure what to think about that. I'm used to training with actual sentient beings, so to train with a droid is a new, and foreign concept to me. As I'm approaching the dueling ring I see that it was a mismatched duel. And in an instant I'm struck stupid. The two students dueling were that girl who the teachers have no intention of helping, and some other male student who was towering over her. The girl was holding her own, but the other student had her on the run. Something had gotten my attention.

The more and more the girl was being forced to be on the defensive, the more frustrate she became. No one else could sense the buildup of Force energy, or if they did they were too engrossed in the fight to register the impending discharge of energy. Before anybody knew what was happened, the taller student had been pulled out of the way as the most powerful Force push that any of the students had ever seen had hit the weapons rack on the way, and knocked the laser swords off their hooks. The girl, the rest of the students and the teacher that ran the duel ringing were looking for the taller student, and they were surprised to see him in the stands. Before anybody could react the girl had dropped her weapon, which had deactivated when it hit the ground, and tore out of the training room.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"If you had been paying attention, you would have felt the buildup of Force energy. I guess you were more interested in making a point, or you tried showing off to some of your friends." I said.

I jump out of the stands, and try to track the girl in the temple, but she was in section of the temple that has numerous people channeling the force. She is hiding in that room, and I can't pinpoint her exact location. I make my way over to the obstacle course, and watch the students run the course. Some are pushes objects away, some are pulling the objects closer to them. I see some students running faster than a normal human can run. I see other students jump distances that are physically impossible. I was about to acknowledge the next great feat that the students were doing, but I could sense Theseus coming up behind me.

"How long did it take for you to get me into the system?" I ask.

"That's not what took so long. I had to meet with the Master Megara for about twenty minutes. From all the gossip around the room you saved Fayt Sheerk from a force attack by Reimi Leingod." he said.

"Reimi, huh." I say, glad to put a name with a face.

"And the fact that you saved Fayt means nothing to you?" he asks.

"Fayt did that to himself. Any drills that you have for me?" I ask changing the subject.

"Yes, before you get to tackle that obstacle course we're going to training you on the basic course." Theseus says, and then turns to leave.

"The basic course. Where's the fun in that?" I ask falling in step behind him.

"You may have generated a force push strong enough to knock a sith lord of a cliff, but that doesn't mean you are ready to tackle that course. There are parts of that course, which are further away from here, that require the combination of two or more force powers." he says.

"That's it? The use of numerous force powers?" I ask.

"That and you need a lightsaber." Theseus says.

"What's a lightsaber? Is that what you call that laser sword I saw the students using?" I ask.

"Yes, and were going to give you a training saber for the time being." he says. "In here."

Before exiting the training hall, we stepped into an alcove to see all sorts of training saber. I look at Theseus and he motions for me to pick a saber. I peruse the training weapons. I pick up numerous ones, but most are put back before I even try them. I pick up one saber, the handle smooth with many ridges in it, and activate the weapon. An orange blade appeared out of thin air. It's a mystical weapon, but the orange was nice. I deactivate the weapon, and then.

"Where should I put it?" I asked not having a place to hang the weapon.

"Here you go." Theseus says producing a utility belt.

I place the training saber back on the pile, and wrap the belt around my waist. Cinching it off at the fourth notch. I have to think about what hand I'm going to use to wield my, and then strap it to my waist on the left side. We exit the training center and make our way out onto the temple grounds. When we exit the temple I take a deep breathe, as if I haven't breathed in the natural air in ages. We walk in silence as we make our way towards the outdoor obstacle course. On occasion I reach out to Reimi, but she's still hiding, or she has closed her mind off to me. I give up as we're approaching the course. I see three doors.

"Go through any of the side doors." Theseus says.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"I'm going through the center door." he says.

I approach the door to the left, and it opens. After I pass through, the door seals shut. "Is it supposed to seal shut?" I ask.

" _Yeah. The doors will only open again when you complete the course._ " I hear Theseus over a P.A. system.

"How long will it take?" I ask.

" _That depends on you. This course will familiarize you with the core force abilities: push, pull, speed, jump, and sense. Some rooms will require one ability, others may require two._ " he said. " _Let's begin. Approach the door to being the course._ "

I see a door on the far side of the room. As I approach the door, it opens and I'm in a room with all sorts of buttons. " _This first room requires you to press buttons to progress. As you get close to clearing the first obstacle you will have to push the buttons with the Force._ " he says.

I walk up to the first button and press it, and the door in front of me opens. I think about how there could possibly be a timer on door for how long it stays open, so I move quickly to exit the room. The rest of the rooms were moving smoothly, and just as Theseus said the last two rooms require that I press the buttons. Now I understand why I needed to be put through the basic course because I have no idea how to tap into the Force at will. There is a few seconds before I hear Theseus over P.A. again. " _Imagine reaching out with the force and touching the button._ "

I attempt to channel the Force. At first I thought had to us one finger like I would be physically pressing a button, but nothing happened. So I opened my hand and flattened it out, and I felt the Force flow through me and saw the door open. I move quickly before the door could close. The last room required me to press two buttons to finish the course. When the door closes I hear Theseus over the P.A. again. " _The next section of the course you have to pull a lever. It begins as soon as you walk through the next door._ "

I went through a couple of rooms, and then I was out of the pull section. As I was traversing the obstacle course I would come to an occasion gap. Some were easy to cross, but the last one was definitely further than the previous ones. This jump reminds me of some of the jumps I made back home, and without being prompted I ran to the edge and then jumped. I felt the Force propel me across the gap, but I had so much momentum that I had to roll when I touch down on the other side. When I entered the next room I saw a door, but when I approached the door it remained shut. I stop and thought about what I had to do to progress. I looked all around the room, but nothing was out of the ordinary. I close my eye, took a deep breath, and let out. When I opened my eyes again I saw a faint picture on the far wall.

" _Open yourself to the Force, and heighten senses to see how you are supposed to exit the room._ " Theseus says over the P.A.

 _I have no idea how I'm supposed to do that._ I think. I start to get anxious about not knowing how to heighten my senses, so I take a few more deep breathes. As the stress leaves my body I get a clearer picture of the image on the wall. I recognize the symbol and I used the Force to push the button, which remove a section of the wall to reveal a lever behind bars. I use the Force to pull the lever and the door in front of me opens. I step through the door and I'm out of the course.

"Well done." Theseus says stepping out of the control booth.

"Well done. That took me longer than most people." I say.

"You sure about that?" he asks.

"Yeah." I say.

"How long do you think you were in there?" he asks.

"Twenty minutes." I say.

"The standard time for getting through the basic course is usually sixteen to twenty minutes. You were actually in there for ten minutes." he says.

I stare at him in shock. "How's that possible?" I ask.

"You've been using the Force all your life, and didn't even know it. So when you actually call on the Force to do a simple command it was a bit of a system shock, but it will come more naturally." Theseus says.

"I didn't use Force speed at all." I say.

"Yes, you did. You combined it with jump to clear that gap." These said, and then turned and started to walk away. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"It's almost lunch time, and I'm hungry." Theseus says.

I fall in step behind Theseus again, and we walk in silence. Although we don't speak, my mind is on Reimi the entire time.


	4. Chapter 4

When we enter the cafeteria, I see Fayt and his group of friends near the entrance. I see all the teachers sitting at a couple of tables near the exit to the garden, and Reimi is nowhere to be seen. Theseus and I wait in line to get our food, and then we part ways. Theseus joins the rest of the staff, and I go outside to eat. As I sit down to eat, I admire the garden properly. Earlier today, during my run in with the Stnari, I wasn't able to enjoy the scenery, properly. The vibrant colors. The whites, the blues, the reds, the purples, and a bunch of other colors spread evenly across a green back drop. The one thing this place has compared to back home is that the other colors stand out more, and some of these plants don't look poisonous. I'm halfway through my lunch when someone sits down next to me.

"You seem to be Mr. Popular today." the boy said.

"What makes you say that?" I ask, after I swallow the food in my mouth.

"I heard that you got an adult Stnari to stand down, none of the instructors or Jedi masters are willing to tangle with that beast. Not only that I heard that you used beast control to get it to stand down. That's sweet because we don't train with that technique! I wish I could have seen it! And then the display in the training center saving Fayt. Honestly, you should have let Reimi hit Fayt with that Force attack, but you didn't hear that form me." The boy said.

"I know. He wasn't that grateful when we were talking in the stands." I say. "What's your name?"

"Fidel Ors, you?" he asked. Fidel is about five feet eleven inches, _He's only a couple of inches taller than me._ I think, white skin that hugs his athletic frame, black hair that stops at his ears, and deep blue eyes.

"Ashono Katarn. How did Reimi end up in her current state?" I asked.

"Reimi was in the dueling ring. The boy had been chipping away at her defenses, per se, and she generate a Force attack so powerful it killed the boy. It was deemed an accident, but the damage done to her mind was pretty severe." he said.

"The damage is superficial, nothing more. How does she act whenever you see her?" I ask.

"Crazy. She has a thousand yard stare in her eyes, talking to herself. I tried to make friends with her a few times, but she turned and ran away. She doesn't wear any shoes; then again, she doesn't go outside very often." he says.

"At least not in the grass." I say.

"I've seen her in the grass before." he says.

"Fidel." a voice from behind us calls.

We both turn to look, and from the looks of it, it was Fidel's teacher. "I have to get back to class. I'll see you around, Ashono." Fidel said.

"No doubt." I say. After Fidel left I had finished eating, and then walked back into the cafeteria to dispose of my tray, plate and silverware. As I was exiting Theseus picked me up, and we went back outside to run the obstacle course again. Theseus put me through the beginner obstacle course, and I got through even faster than I did before lunch. As soon as I exited, Theseus exited and said. "I want you to go back in, but there will be another course for you to go through."

I entered the course again, and prepared for whatever Theseus was going to throw at me. This time it wasn't about the use of the Force in getting through the rooms, or so Theseus explained. " _This course isn't going to be about using of your core force abilities to get through. Let's see how you handle a light saber._ "

I pull my light saber off my utility belt and enter the first room. I see two of those droid ball thingies from the training center, but only one is active at the moment. I watch as it starts to move. Just a fraction of a second I see the thing stop, and prepare to fire. I activate my light saber, and ready a defense, but I was hit by the laser the droid shot at me. The beam didn't hurt me, but it did sting. " _Open yourself up to the Force and anticipate the movements of the droid._ " Theseus says.

I allow the force to move through me, and I block the next attack. The attack that follows I redirect it back at the droid, and destroy it. The next few rooms are a mix of both Force powers, and droid defense. At one point I was in mid run as I was blocking, and redirecting laser fire, _That's dirty._ I think.

And before I know it, the sun is starting to break the horizon and it's time for dinner. I hook my saber back onto my belt, and we then we make our way back to cafeteria. As we're walking back to the temple I ask. "Are there any chores I have to do?"

Theseus contemplates this a moment. "I'll get in touch with the Master Megara." he says.

After we enter the cafeteria I see Fidel over by the exit to the garden, and I clock Fayt close to the lunch line. I sense he has something he wants to say, or ask me. I reach out to Reimi, but she is hiding from me in the Force, and then I feel a disturbance in the Force. I turn to Theseus, but he seems unaware of it. I look over at the tables that the masters sat at during lunch, and it's empty. I look behind me, and I see Master Kallini and the female jedi master in the black robes enter the cafeteria. The masters approached Theseus and whispered in his ear. I continued walking the line, but I listened to the conversation through the force. The masters state that a student has run off into the forests alone. The last known whereabouts was near a Stnari den.

"If I have to fight a Stnari, I'm not going alone." Theseus says.

"Take your padawan if need be." the master in the black robes said.

"Yes, masters." Theseus says.

 _Before we go after that student, I want to eat first._ I say through the Force.

"No arguments there." Theseus says.

B.b.B.

The Galactic Core, aboard the Chimera-

Cauis has been resting in a stasis chamber since he was removed from the Bacta tank. The door on the chamber opened, and the atmosphere escaped. Cortana and Ordona take a knee instantly, and bow their heads in reverence for their restored leader, and master.

"General Ordona?" Cauis asked.

"The fleet is currently surrounding Coruscant." Ordona said.

"Move to the Outer Rim. Cortana, what happened to Darth Zant?" Cauis asked, as Ordona was exiting the private quarters.

"He died on that planet in the Unknown Region, my lord." Cortana said.

"Rise, and assume the mantle of apprentice, Darth Cortana." Cauis said.

"Yes, my lord." Cortana said as she stood and took her place at Darth Cauis' side.

Cauis body accepted the metal to replace the bone that was sheared off in the attack, but the skin grafts were rejected by Cauis' body. So the metal that was used was the color of his skin, or as close as possible. Cauis looked at his head and face in the mirror.

"Darth Cortana, why did the skin grafts not take?" he asked.

"The metal used to replace the bone that was lost rejected the skin grafts, my lord. I was not given an adequate answer. I'm sorry." she said.

"Don't apologize, Darth Cortana. Having a portion of my face being flesh, and the rest of it metal is going to strike fear in the hearts of our enemies," he said turning to face Cortana. The metal had bonded to Cauis' head perfectly, even though the metal is shinier than his skin, you can barely tell where the skin ends and the metal begins.

"Have you learn anything about the disappearance of the Jedi and the boy?" he asked.

"Boy? There was a boy?" she asked.

"Yes. The boy is the one who made it necessary for the makeover." he stated.

"I have not found either of them in the Force." she said.

"How many rebel strongholds have you taken?" he asked.

"The planets in the Galactic Core have been purged, but as soon as we cross into Outer Rim, the bases are spread too thin to get an accurate bead on them." she said.

"Then mount up, Darth Cortana. It's time we go hunting." Darth Cauis said.

"Yes, Lord Cauis." Darth Cortana said, and then the pair left the private quarters.

B.b.B.

Moon orbiting Yavin IV-

The moon was at its peak by the time Theseus and I had set out to look for the student? It never occurred to me to ask who the missing student was until now. "Did they say who we are looking for?" I ask.

"No, but I can tell it's someone we haven't interacted yet." He said.

"Got meet the rest of the academy some time, might as well be now." I say.

"This student is probably one you're going to want to avoid." he said.

"Why?" I ask.

"He's one of the students that runs in Fayt's circle." he said.

"Oh, geez! Why did they elect us to go find this student?" I asked.

"You were the one who had to show off, and subdue that Stnari earlier today." Theseus said.

"If that's the reason, next time I'll just let the Stnari eat the students." I say.

"You can take that up with the jedi masters." he said.

"Maybe I will." I say just as the ground begins to shake. We fall silent and begin to judge where the beast is in comparison to us, as well as the student. We both stretch out with the Force to see where the beast is, and the student.

"Just our luck. The student is in the cave nearby." I say.

"That's most likely the beast's lair." he says.

"Remind me to send a scathing response to the masters after this is all said and done." I say.

"Believe me that will be as useful as you getting a thank you out Fayt Sheerk for saving his life." he said.

"Let's hope there's only one beast in there." I say.

"What?" he asks.

"Predators don't always live alone—"

I was cut off when we heard the student cry out in the Force, _HELP!_ The two of us charge into the cave with reckless abandon. "The master don't find out that we just charged head long into the situation without devising a plan." Theseus says.

"We should have thought of a plan instead running our mouths." I said.

We run down the tunnels, weaving in and out of them until we find the student. One thing I didn't notice on the way into the tunnels is how dark it was. We had channeled the force to augment our vision. I felt micro vibrations coming from behind us, and I turn to see the stnari I fought earlier today come up behind us.

"Theseus." I say.

"What?" he asks but I don't get to tell Theseus the problem. All that could be heard throughout the tunnels is the deafening roar of the stnari.

"Get the student back to the academy." I say and then take off running in the direction that the stnari had come from. The beast had no interest in Theseus or the student. It wants to eat me to make up for my antics from earlier. I'm glad Theseus put me through all those obstacle courses. I had use the force to keep ahead of the stnari, but I also had to dodge in out of a few alcoves, and jump a huge gap. The gape didn't stop the beast. _It must know a way around it._ I think, and sure enough I see the beast come up on my left. I start to feel the consequences of using the force in extended periods of time, my body is starting to become sluggish. I dive out of the way to avoid being eaten. I jump across the gap and start running back to the entrance of the cave. I try to use only one force ability at a time, using two abilities at once sparingly. I start stumbling here and there because of the vibrations being sent through the floor of the cave from the gaining stnari. I dodge being eaten twice, and then I see light at the end of the tunnel. I duck down one tunnel to lose the beast. When I was satisfied that the stnari wasn't following me I exit the cave, but I had to stop suddenly to avoid falling off of a cliff.

I turn back when I hear the stnari roar, and I see that I have about two seconds before I'm dinner. I dive out of the way, and the stnari runs right off the cliff. I can hear the creature's screams until it stops because it either hit the ground, or it is out of my hearing ranging. I try to look for a way up, or sense if this pass to my left leads elsewhere, when suddenly, in my mind's eye, I'm shown a way back to the academy. I follow the path mapped out in my head. By the time I reach solid ground again my body is trembling from drawing heavily on the Force. The presences in the Force seemed female, and I reach out to Reimi. _Is that you Reimi?_ And as usual she doesn't answer. I looked up into the night sky and see the moon to my left. I realize that it's after midnight, which probably means I'm going to have an angry council waiting for me when I get back. _Not what I wanted, but I don't have a choice._ I think.

Before I could set out I see a, _Some sort of vehicle._ I think, appears overhead, and then set downs. "About time you showed up." Theseus said holding out his hand.

"I'm not in the mood for it." I say taking the out stretched hand. Theseus helps me into the vehicle, and then shuts the door behind me. As soon I sit down in the chair I doze off, but it was only for a few minutes. Before I know I feel Theseus shaking me awake. "We're back." he says.

I look around to see we're in a hanger. As the door is opening I see Master Kallini and Master Megara waiting outside the door. I let out a groan as the door opens. "It seems you have had a trying first day." Master Megara said.

"Is there anything I can do for you master, or can I go to bed?" I ask holding my emotions at bay. The cold shoulder I have been getting from the masters is starting to get under my skin. I don't see Theseus shake his head. "It can wait until the morning. Go get some rest my child." Master Kallini said.

I nod my head at the masters, and then turn and walk away. I can feel the toll that the day has taken on my body, and it is by far the worst day I have every experienced. Theseus points me to my room when we get to the dorms, and I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.


	5. Contest of Wills

Morning came faster than I wanted it to, but seeing as how first thing in the morning was meditation I was able to finish recharging. After morning meditation, is the first round of chores. Then after the chores were done, breakfast was being served. After I got my food, I made my way to a table near the entrance to the garden. The breath of fresh air is already doing wonders on my demeanor. As I was sitting down at the table Fidel sat down next to me. "Hi." Fidel said.

"Hi." I said in return with a tiny smile. And before I knew it my table was being filled with other students. Most of them asking about my feats of dexterity from the day before. "Oh, it was nothing." I said.

"It wasn't nothing." Fayt said, joining the conversation. Both Fidel and I stare at Fayt blankly, while the rest of the table was staring at him contently with bated breathe. _The people at the table, excluding Fidel and I, are enthralled with Fayt._ I think. "If it wasn't for you I would have ended up in the hospital yesterday."

"Next time it will be to up you to save yourself." I say.

"That's not the way of the jedi." Fayt scolded.

"Neither is it to leave a damaged girl to wander aimlessly when she accidently kills someone." I counter.

"Touché." Fidel said.

Fayt stares me down, while the table grows deathly quiet. "That child is a loss. I have no idea why the masters keep her around." Fayt say attacking Reimi.

I know nothing about Reimi, but something in me speaks up for the girl. "That girl, if properly trained, could give you a run for you money, or do we need to recap yesterday's incident. You know it's quite pathetic that you pick on a girl with a damaged mind thinking she's an easy target. Then again, she was about to put you in the hospital if it wasn't for my intervention." I say with a devilish grin on my face.

Fayt is glaring daggers at me. "Little womp rat, when your master clears you for the dueling ring I'm going to make you eat those word." Fayt says, and then storms away from the table with his entourage in tow.

"Womp rat?" I ask.

"A desert pest native to the dunes of Tatooine. It's an insult to some people, but it seems that you took it stride." another student at the table said.

"He's going to have to try harder than that it he's going to try to insult me." I say.

We finish eating our breakfast in silence, but as I'm exiting the Theseus grabs me from the crowd and takes me to the training simulation, scolding me as we go. "Did you really have to pick a fight with Fayt?" he asks.

"I didn't pick a fight with Fayt. He said that if it wasn't for me, he would have been in the hospital. To which I said that the next it will be up to him to save himself." I say.

"That's not something you should have said." he said.

"Look. Fayt attacked Reimi. Reimi is a child who needs help, yet the people who swore to protect, help, and guide her to adult hood refuse to do so. If this is what I have to look forward to, then I'm glad my mom never handed me over to _you_ until I was older." I say venomously.

Theseus didn't have a rebuttal to my attack because the jedi aren't always perfect. As in the case of Reimi. They may be selfless, and unbiased keepers of the law, per se, but when it gets down to it they're just like everybody else in the galaxy. When we get to the training sim, Theseus puts me in for sparring practice.

After two hours of grueling lightsaber practice, Theseus pulls me out and we head back for lunch. Theseus is silent as we walk back, but my mind is elsewhere. _The last name Katarn. Is that the name of the man who was my father, and what happened to the man?_ I think. My thoughts are interrupted by the student body gossiping around the complex about Fayt and my confrontation over breakfast. I can also sense Reimi's troubled thoughts. Sometime there will be a reckoning between us. Something is going to happen, and we will be on the opposite sides of a conflict. _But maybe I could use that to reach out to her and heal her mind._ I think.

When we enter the cafeteria I get my lunch and head out into the garden, while Theseus got his lunch and sat with the other instructors. A few minutes later I was joined by Fidel. "So how did you chat with Theseus go?" Fidel asked.

"We haven't spoken to each other since we left breakfast. I'm guessing, after all the grueling lightsaber sparring I've been doing, Theseus is preparing me for when I step into the dueling ring." I say.

"Fayt is a bit of an anomaly. His fighting style doesn't fall into the usual patterns that we teach here." he said.

"This should be interesting." I said.

"That it should." Fidel said.

After lunch, Theseus and I head back to the training ring. After a few days in the sparring ring, I get called to the outdoor obstacle course, and the training sim. I breeze the obstacle course, and I sense Theseus had tweaked the training sim. The training droid was relentless, but I found a weakness in its form. When it went for an overhead strike I stepped out of range a mere millisecond before the droid attacked. Just as the droid got its saber up I went on the offensive, driving it into the wall. I had the droid pinned against the wall when I felt someone express shock through the Force. I stepped out of the way in time as a droid came up behind me, and destroyed the droid I was fighting. I reach out with the Force, and crushed the droid.

"Anything else?" I ask.

" _That will be all. You may exit the training sim._ " Theseus said.

I exit the sim and I reach out with the Force to hear the conversation. _He's ready to join the rest of the students. Just like that? You're just going to throw him to the wolves? He's competent enough to take on two droids who fought like two of our best students. I still think it's a bad idea. Master Megara and Master Cara think the boy has done enough private training. It's time for him to join the rest of the students._ This ought to be interesting. I exit the training sim as Master Kallini was leaving. "So when do I begin?" I ask.

"It's rude to eavesdrop." Theseus said.

"It's no less despicable to let someone like Fayt to go around with a chip on his shoulder and not be held accountable for his actions. Let alone the masters who refuse to help Reimi." I say.

Theseus didn't look at me. He just starts walking back to the temple. "Hey!" I shout the anger seething in me.

"What?" Theseus asked.

"There's going to be a moment of reckoning, and when that happens Reimi is going to come train with us." I say.

"Surely you can't be—"

"I am serious." I say leaving no room for argument.

We walk back to the temple in silence. We are upset with each other, so we just go through the motions. By the time we get back to the temple steps it's time for lunch, so we head to the cafeteria. Theseus makes his way over to the training schedule to get me in rotation, as I make my way over to the lunch line. I get my food and make my way out into the garden. I'm not feeling friendly and I sense that my training is about to be taken up a couple of notches. After lunch I begin training with the other students. Two days after entering training center I try my hand at duel-wielding. First with a two handed weapon, and then a weapon in each hand. And my fame grew even more.

Over a year has passed since I began training with the other students. Over the months I began to see more and more of Reimi, but she never came close. She always hoovered at distance, as if she's afraid to come near me. Then one day something strange happened. I was in the duel ring when I felt the Force come alive like never before. I was dueling a student that had advance tactics, but he was having a hard time trying to get the better of me. At some point during our duel, I felt a presence from behind me. I side stepped gracefully out of the way of a Force Push that hit the student I was dueling and it sent him flying.

"I'm almost certain that the rules of the ring are only two people at a time." I say.

"Fayt." Fidel says leaning on edge of the ring.

"I haven't stepped into the ring." Fayt says innocently.

"But you did attack another student that is currently engaged in a duel with another student," the instructor said.

I see Fayt smiling devilishly as if he has the upper hand. _I can't stand him._ I think. "Fayt." I say. Fayt stares at me expectantly. "Shall we?"

Fayt leaps into the ring and as he pulled his lightsaber off his belt. "Here's your chance, what was it you called… little womp rat? Come and get it." I say.

Fayt shrieks at my insult, as his blue saber blazes to life and he attacks me, or he tries to attack. I reach out with the Force and anticipate his attacks, both saber and force. With every attack that Fayt made I either dodge, or turned back on him. I pull my saber off my belt because I sense another presence coming, and Fayt almost hit me a couple of time. As the Force flows through me I'm able to continue to make Fayt look like a fool, but keep my senses sharp for this interloper. Fayt keeps pushing, but I keep parrying and countering, which is incensing Fayt all the more. I keep fighting Fayt and watching for the interloper to appear, but I missed Theseus and the council approaching the dueling ring.

I felt a discharge in the force, and I have to give it my full attention because it's more powerful than the attack I weathered last year against that sith lord. I kick Fayt away from me, deactivate lightsaber clipping it to my belt, and turn around raising my hands just in time to block the attack. I sense the attack had come from Reimi, and that she was testing me. So I decide to reveal another power I know. I weather attack, but I use Force Repulse and it send back on her.

"I sense your presence, Reimi, and I also sense your fear. Come and face me, and I will help you mend." I say.

"What are you doing, Ashono?" Master Cara asked.

Master Cara was the woman in the black robes I see following Master Megara. "Your job." I say plainly.

 _You think you can succeed where others have failed. What makes you so sure?_ Reimi asked.

"Come and find out." I challenge, drawing my lightsaber.

Without warning my orange blade springs to life and blocks Reimi's cyan blade that was coming in at a downward angle at my neck. The attack would have probably killed me, but I'm too quick. _I could use a challenge._ I say to Reimi. _A challenge you shall have._ She said back. I kicked Reimi out of the saber lock, but I don't charge her. Reimi regains her balance, and renews her attack, which was as wild and erratic like an animal that had been driven insane by a mortal wound.

We both draw on the force to augment our abilities, but no matter what Reimi attack had thrown at me I was able to counter. I can sense her frustration beginning to build. We enter another saber lock, and through the Force I said. _I heard about that student you killed, it wasn't you fault._ Reimi snapped back. _SHUT UP! What do you know?_ I push though. _I know that accidents happen, that's a way of life. What the masters did to you was wrong. They let you think that there was something wrong with you when there wasn't._ I said. I can see the tears building in Reimi's eyes. _What do you know?_ She asks. _Come on Reimi, you must have realized by now that they weren't going to do anything to you!_ I say. _Prove it!_ She says. _Then why are you still in the temple, let alone wondering its hallowed halls without a babysitter?_ I ask. My words struck a chord in Reimi because I can see shocked realization in her eyes.

"That's not possible." Reimi says.

I break the saber by back flipping away from her. When I land, I shutdown and buckle my saber to my belt. "Then stop trying hit me, and hit." I say.

Reimi hesitated at first, but then I feel her draw upon the Force to attack me. What shocked me was the fact that she can generate such a powerful force attack, and it not affect her. The attack was so powerful that I was forced to take a knee. I use Force Repulse again, and I send the attack back on Reimi. The attack had sent Reimi flying like a rag doll. I reach out with the Force and grab Reimi before she could hit the back wall of the training room, albeit, the force attack the she used hit the wall and destroyed some equipment. I gently set Reimi on the ground, and she races back to the duel ring. By the time she got back, I was surrounded by students who were in the stands. Reimi wanted to talk to me, but from what I could sense in the Force it was something deeper than that. I reach out with the Force and reassure her that there will be time to talk, and I see her visibly relax.

"Welcome back." A voice from behind Reimi said.

Reimi turned and saw that it was Fidel. "Hi, Fidel." she said huge smile.

"Ashono could use another friend." he said.

"Ashono, huh." she said.

Out the corner of my eye I see the look on Reimi's face, and something tells me that this girl is going to go to great lengths for our friendship. After the crowd had dispersed I was able to approach Reimi and Fidel, but the masters had other plans.

"Well done, you two. That was a great contest of will." Master Kallini said.

I look sourly at her, but I look at Theseus and see him shake his head. I keep my mouth shut. Then Master Cara spoke "As to not overwhelm Theseus with two strong-willed students, Reimi you will be trained by Master Jyn Fyyar."

"But—" Reimi began, but I lay a hand on her shoulder. I gave her a wink when she looked at me, and she smiled back. "Welcome back Reimi, and you have our sincerest apologies for not giving you our help sooner." Master Megara said.

Reimi looks at me and I nod. "Apology accepted." she said.

"Alright, that's enough gawking for one afternoon. Time for afternoon chores." Master Kallini said.

Reimi turned to me with a worried look. "Come find me at dinner." I say, and Reimi winks at me with a huge smile plastered on her face, and turns to walk away

"Looks like you have a fan." Fidel says walking up behind me.

"I think it's more than that." I say.

"Good, or bad?" he asks.

"The masters won't like, but I could care less." I say.

"Tread carefully, Ashono." Fidel says, and then leaves the training room to attend to his chores.


	6. Chapter 6

Dinnertime finds Reimi, Fidel, and myself at a table near the entrance to the garden. We are surrounded by other students talking about the fights in the training room. A lot of people are talking to Reimi, and ignoring the fact that I was the one that did all the work. Not that I care. Now everybody in the temple will want a piece of me. I'm going to stay one step ahead of the competition if I want to keep the predators off of me, let only show any weakness.

On the other side of the cafeteria I see Fayt glaring at me. I give him a thumbs, and he glares daggers at me. I turn to see Fidel shaking his head at me. "Fayt is my rival. I'm going to return the favor for picking on Reimi." I said.

Fidel grimaced at the implications of what that meant, and then we both turned to look at Fayt. I mouthed, while pointing at him, _I'm coming for you_. Fayt's eyes got as big as a dessert saucer. I smile widely, and then return to dinner. I look over at Reimi who has the biggest smile on her face. I return the smile and we both return to our plates. I see Reimi eye me, but this eye contact was different than a few seconds ago. I feel a few stares, and I can sense the master's disapproval through the force. Not that I care. I'm going to toe a fine line with Reimi. I stop and think about it for a moment. I look at all the masters and I realize they're all single. I smile to myself, and decide how I'm going to court Reimi.

After dinner was evening meditation and I find my way out to the temple grounds. I can feel the masters eyeing me, and I see Reimi making her way over to me. I stop her short, and motion for her to keep her distance. I impress upon her, through the Force, we need to be careful with our interactions because the masters aren't happy with our closeness.

 _You think I care?_ Reimi asked.

 _Please tell me that's a rhetorical question._ I say.

 _What?_ She asked.

 _I know you don't care._ I say.

I feel irritation radiating off of Reimi. After evening meditation is over Reimi leaves before I can smooth things over. I roll my eyes and then head to my room. Before I could get to my room I was stopped by Fayt. "You think you can humiliate me out of sort of misguide vengeance you've got another thing coming." he said.

"You should have thought that through before acting like hut'uun." I said and then walked into my room. Fayt stood there stupefied by what just left my mouth. As I was shutting my door he was still standing there. I shook my head and shut my door in his face. Fayt finally regained his senses and walked away.

I grab some clothes and went to the bathroom to get a shower. Back home we had communal showers, whereas here, they have individual stalls. There were dispensers for soap, shampoo, and conditioner. After my shower, I put on fresh change of clothes and step out of the stall. I stop at the sink to brush my teeth, and after I was done I head back to my room. I put my clothes in the hamper so they can be washed, and then I crawl in bed and go to sleep. Come morning I dress and then head out to the main hall for morning meditation. I find Fidel waiting for me, whereas, Reimi is on the other side of the room and she's upset and unbalanced. I give her nudge through the Force and she glares at me. I wave to her, and she ignores me. "You're going to piss her off." Fidel warned.

"That's the plan." I say.

"You know that's dangerous." he said.

"I want her to be so cross with me that she can't see what's about to hit her. I don't believe the jedi have it right. No attachments, that's impossible." I counter.

"What do you mean?" Fidel asked.

"To go through life without growing close to somebody is impossible. You're drawn to me to the point that we're almost brothers." I say, pointing out our relationship.

"That's different." he said.

"Don't arguments semantics, Fidel. You know it's the same thing. We bond with all sorts of people and things." I say.

"So what are you saying, that a Jedi's life in a temple is meaningless?" he asked.

"The only way to get through life without succumbing to the dark side is to make peace with it. There's nothing else you can do." I say.

"I don't understand. That doesn't make any sense." he says.

"Trust me, if you want to live you're going to have to accept death. It a natural part of life." I finish in a whisper as meditation begins. I empty my mind and reach out with the Force. I feel Fidel next to me, frazzled by our conversation. I can feel Fayt next to the exit. _His mind is erratic. How does he concentrate on anything?_ I think to myself. I feel Reimi on the other side of the hall. She doesn't shut me out, but she doesn't commune with me. _That's okay._ I think. Reimi will come to me when she's ready.

The hour for morning meditation is over and were on to morning chores. This morning's chores has me tending to live stock, or what they consider live stock. _These are some strange looking creatures._ I think.

Breakfast comes and Reimi joins Fidel and me, but she is content with conversing with other people at the table. I shake my head, but Reimi doesn't miss that I'm biting my lower lip before I start eating. Reimi doesn't know what to think. She knows that I favor her, but after I told her to keep her distance last night she doesn't where I stand with her. _I'll explain it later._ I say through the Force. _Whatever._ Reimi says.

I roll my eyes, but I don't look at her. Breakfast comes and goes, and then it's on to morning training session. I've been at the temple for a year, and I never noticed the outdoor obstacle course off of the training center. "You think you have what it takes?" I hear Theseus' voice from behind me.

"What do I have to do?" I ask.

"Make through within the allotted time, and you have a chance to finish the entire course. Which has not be completed by anyone, even Fayt." he says.

"Do me a favor, please. Don't mention that name, like ever." I say and then step up platform.

"You have fourteen minutes to complete the course. Theseus says. "Starting now."

The platform drops out from under my feet, and I landed in the water. I use the Force to enhance my abilities and I'm out of the pool and continuing on with the rest of the course. I'm in and out of rooms in seconds flat. Rooms that would have given people problems and forced them to take a few minutes to complete, I did it in one or two minute tops. I enter a room and I know Theseus changed the program. I look up to see Master Jyn standing next Theseus. I shake my head at the pair. I use my Force Sense to look for a solution. This room took me two minutes to complete. As I'm approaching the final door I hear Theseus come over the loud speaker. " _You're about to enter a part of the course that few have gotten to, and even fewer have finished._ "

I don't even break my stride. I enter the next room, and I see a pillar in the center. At the top of the pillar a cage. I can't see the object in the cage, but I begin to work on figuring out a solution on how to get access to the cage. I look for a path and I find my way. I don't waste any time completing the puzzle. In mere seconds I'm climbing a hill that is twenty feet away from the pillar. When I look inside the cage I'm in shock to see a lightsaber. Whether it's functional or not is another story. I use my sense to look for a switch, which is right behind me. I'm guessing this switch is pressure sensitive, so I try to reach for the lightsaber in the Force, and I'm out of reach. I think of what my options are, and I realize that I'm going to have to do something insane, or suicidal to get the saber.

At this point I sense other people had begun to watch. I find Fidel and Reimi and the rest of the crowd cheering me on, while Fayt and his crew are either incensed or unimpressed. I looked over at Theseus and he shrugged his shoulders. I return my gaze to the pillar and notched gouge marks. I give a hollow laugh, and I figure out what I'm supposed to do.

"This is crazy." I say.

 _For the record, you about to do something extremely crazy, and extremely dangerous._ I hear Fidel through the Force. _Tell me about._ I say back.

I step on the switch and wait for the cage to raise to its full height. Just as I step off the switch I draw on the Force to augment my speed, which slows the cage return to its resting position. Then I use the Force to augment my jump. When I was half way to the pillar I reach out with the Force and pulled the lightsaber to me. I flip the lightsaber over and active the weapon. I see a black blade come to life as I'm mere seconds from colliding with the pillar. It takes a few seconds for the lightsaber to slow my descent. When I finally stop I'm about twenty feet from the ground. I use the Force to slow my descent and drop the rest of the way. I admire the black blade, and then deactivate the weapon. I see an exit, and complete the course.

As I'm exiting I see Theseus flanked by the entire council. I know exactly what they're going to say, so I hand the lightsaber over to Theseus without a fight. "I'm going to want that back when I can carry a real lightsaber." I say.

"That won't be a problem." Master Megara said.

Theseus and the council leave without a backwards glance. I roll my eyes and then walk away. And as usual I'm surrounded by the rest of the students that are in awe of my abilities. I try not to come across as a jerk, I didn't run the course for their enjoyment, so I say "Thank you" a few times. I find Fidel and Reimi and we leave the Training Room together, but not before I give Fayt a thumbs up. We find our way into the garden. We head all the way to the far right corner in the back of the garden, which surprising, has a few trees blocking us from full view of the cafeteria entrance. We sit down under a tree, with Reimi leaning against me and then she falls asleep. My arm is in gap of her back between her shoulder blades. I raise my eyebrows at Fidel and he shakes his head.

"You really are going to drive Fayt mad, aren't you?" Fidel asked.

"I could care less." I say.

"Can you please at least act least like you care? I've seen students get kicked out of the academy for having the same demeanor. What's going to happen to her? None of the master's care, and Master Fyyar is grudgingly training Reimi. So take care how you interact with the rest of the student body." Fidel said.

I look at Reimi when Fidel implied that Reimi would be left out in the cold if I was banished from the academy. I reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and I was in shock at the softness of her skin. I saw Reimi stir when I touched her, and I moved my hand away from her. Reimi murmured something in her sleep, but I couldn't make it out. Fidel and I continue to talk between ourselves for few hours, and then I rouse Reimi so we could go eat lunch. When Reimi looked me, she rolled her eyes and then got up to head to lunch.

"What was that about?" Fidel asked.

"Just let it be." I say.

"Did she forget that you let her lean against your arm and fall asleep?" he asked.

"I'll clear the air in the near future, so just go with it. Okay?" I ask.

"Whatever you say." Fidel said.

I get up off the ground, and offer my hand to Fidel. He took my hand, and I helped him to his feet. We head back to get lunch.


	7. Chapter 7

Lunch comes and goes and back to the Training Room working. I avoid the dueling ring because I'm not particularly fond of sparring right now. I find a student who had just come out of the obstacle course and was downcast. She was having a problem of some sort. "What are you having problems with?" I ask.

"I'm having trouble trying to activate both speed and jump at the same time. Kind of like you did before lunch." she said.

"That was nothing." I say. "What you have to do is concentrate. It takes time. Try again."

The girl goes back into the course as Fidel comes walking up behind me. "Are you sure about this?"

"Do I look like Fayt? And didn't you say that I'm supposed to act like I care?" I ask quote Fidel from earlier.

"This is different, and you know it. I meant that when it concerned Fayt." he said.

I take a few moments to register when he meant. "If she needed help she can ask, but what she needs from me I can't give her openly while we live in the temple." I say.

"Why?" Fidel asks.

We share a look, and Fidel gets the point, and walks away. Just as Fidel walked away he saw Reimi coming at a distance. He reached out and caught her arm. "Walk away." Fidel admonished.

"Why?" Reimi asked.

"What he's doing has nothing to do with your relationship. Ashono is the top student in the temple." he said.

"Meaning?" she asked.

"Unlike Fayt, Ashono is helping other students better themselves in their training." Fidel said, and then walked away.

Reimi thought about Fidel's words, and then looked back at me. _What I'm doing isn't about us. This is about repairing the damage Fayt has done._ I say through the Force. _Good luck with that. You have your work cut out for you._ Reimi say. _Thanks for the vote of confidence._ I say. Reimi sees me turn to her with a sarcastic smile on my face, and she smiles back. I turn back to the obstacle course as the student was exiting, and Reimi turned and walked away.

I sense Fayt staring at me from a distance, and he's angry. Not that I care, but then again Fayt isn't entirely to blame for things getting out of hand. The masters should share equal blame in the matter. The student entered the course with the pointers that I gave her. After that student was satisfied, I moved on to the other stations throughout the Training Room. I didn't go near the dueling ring because the instructor there had everything under control.

Another year has passed, and my skill level has improved but my stress levels are starting to reach critical mass. I've been able to fend off a most of the students. Fayt is still an annoyance, but he isn't a problem. Reimi is trying to be top student, and I could care less if she takes the spot. But every time we spar she keeps leaving herself open, and I keep beating her. A few times, just like the session we finished, Reimi throws a force attack at me. I was able to deflect the few that she threw, but this time I ate the full force of the attack. This attack disabled me, and I was at Reimi's mercy. I clipped my lightsaber to my belt and waited for Reimi to attack. When she went to attack, I sidestepped the attack and used Force Push and sent Reimi flying. But before Reimi could be injured I stopped her from hitting the wall. Before Reimi could return to the ring Fidel had grabbed her arm.

"Let me go!" she growled trying to break free of Fidel's grip. Reimi turned to see me limp away with my right arm hanging limp at my side.

"What are you trying to prove?" he asks. "That you're better than Ashono. That by beating him that you are the top student, and the one to beat?"

"Let me go! Ashono!" she cries out, but I'm already at the door. I stop at the door, and turn to look at her. My bruising was a lot worse than what Reimi last saw, so I turn and exit the Training Room.

"Reimi Leingod." A voice from behind the friends said.

"I'll handle this Master Megara." Fidel said.

"Are you sure?" Master Kallini asked. "She could have killed Ashono a few moments ago."

Reimi burst into silent tears when Master Kallini said that she could have killed me, but she kept her silence. "Probably, but I doubt it." Fidel said.

"Really? Then what is it?" Master Megara asked.

"It was Ashono's attempt to get through to Reimi. Disciplining Reimi would defeat the purpose of what just happened, or what could happen." Fidel said.

"What's the point, then?" Master Kallini asked.

"No matter what you do, or damage you cause, Ashono will always best Reimi." Fidel said.

"Even if it causes his death?" Master Megara asked.

"Probably." Fidel says.

"And I'm guessing this is Ashono's wishes?" Theseus asks.

"Yes." Fidel said.

"The council will deliberate. Reimi meet the council in the garden after dinner.

"Yes, Master Megara." Reimi said, wiping tears.

The two friends remain motionless as the masters and Theseus walked away. Reimi turned into Fidel and buried her face into his chest. "Stop trying to beat Ashono. Being the top student means nothing to him." Fidel said cradling Reimi's head next to his body.

"Is Ashono ready to die to prove that he cares about me?" Reimi asks.

"I'm not sure. Being top student is a burden for Ashono. Everyone is trying to best him, and they keep failing miserably. Ashono's back is against the wall, and what he needs more than anything is your friendship." Fidel said.

"Aw, how sweet." Fayt said.

Both Fidel and Reimi lift their arms, and Force Pushed Fayt away from them. As Fayt was getting to his feet, Reimi and Fidel had already exited the Training Room.

B.b.B.

The Chimera-

Darth Cauis was on the bridge of his flagship, and was staring out into the great abyss of space. Cauis looks at a map of the galaxy, and brings up the Yavin system. He knows about the Conclave on the moon that orbits Yavin IV, but he's not in a hurry to go there at the moment. Even when he reaches out in the Force he feels a familiar presence, one that he can't place but he knows that he's encountered it before.

"Lord Cauis." General Ordona.

"Yes, Ordona." Caius said.

"The projected shipments are at three hundred percent." Ordona said.

"Good. Prepare our forces to join the shipments. I want to make sure there are no mistakes. The rebel forces are becoming annoyance." Cauis said.

"Yes, Lord Cauis." Ordona said, and then exited the bridge.

"Is there a problem, Cortana?" Cauis asked his apprentice.

"Is it necessary to dwell on that rock?" she asked.

"Not really, but something about that moon, or presence on that moon, is familiar." he said.

"There are a lot of signatures on that moon, my lord. There's an active Jedi enclave there." She said.

"Well turn our sights to the enclave in the near future." Cauis said.

"As you wish." Cortana said.

B.b.B.

Moon orbiting Yavin IV, garden-

Reimi was standing at attention while she waited for the council to hand down her punishment, and they were about to reach a conclusion when they had an unexpected visitor.

"Ashono, what are you doing out of the infirmary?" Master Megara asked.

"Coming to the defense of my friend. Like it or not I'm as much to blame as Reimi is." I say, as I slowly exited the cafeteria.

"How so?" Master Kallini asked.

"I let Reimi believe that she had bested me." I said.

"Doubtful." Theseus said.

"Look at the footage again." I said.

One of the other council members produced a data pad, and brought up the Training Room footage from earlier today. Master Megara saw what I had said. I deactivated my saber and clipped it to my belt. Kallini was upset that I had interfered.

"What's the problem?" I asked.

"There's no problem." Theseus said.

"Really? Then why is the council grudgingly training Reimi?" I asked. I raise a hand to silence Reimi, who took a deep breath to calm the anger.

"She's barely better than Fayt Sheerk." Master Jyn said.

"Fayt is a bully, and a hot head. Reimi is more than barely better than Fayt. Her raw Force power rivals mine." I say with disgust. "Fayt doesn't care about the other students. Fayt went unchallenged until Theseus brought me to the temple. I've been here two years, and the students have gotten better than when Fayt was the top student."

"Then what do you propose we do with Fayt?" Master Megara asked.

"Whatever is necessary, I leave that up to you." I say.

The council shared a look, and then Master Kallini spoke up. "You are dismissed."

Reimi was about to say something, but I motioned for us to exit the garden. We head towards the Training Room, but I took a detour. The hallway dumps us onto a balcony that overlooked the gardens, and the forest beyond. I stare off into the distance not bothering to acknowledge Reimi's presence. I was gathering my words. I'm not trying to scold her, but she needs to hear from me that our time in the ring means nothing to me. Reimi wants a relationship. She wants to date me, but we can't do that not while were here.

"Are truly bent on beating me in the arena that you would try to kill me?" I ask.

"You put your lightsaber away, and refused to defend yourself. If it's so easy to pick apart my form why don't you help?" Reimi accused.

 _She's not wrong._ I think. "The reason I keep beating you is because you aren't drawing on the Force as much as you should."

"That's it. Just like that." she says.

"Every time you go into the ring against anybody else you draw on the Force until the duel is over, but when you go against me you stop using the Force half way through the duel." I say finally turning to look at Reimi.

Reimi stops and thinks on my words. While she is thinking I turn and look out over the garden and forest again. _Is he right? Do I use the Force more against others, as opposed to when I'm dueling Ashono?_ Reimi thinks. She thinks back to all the duels she has had since I healed her mind and realizes that yes she does the Force against the other students more, than she does against me. _I know I'm right._ I say through the Force. _Could you please not interrupt my thoughts, please? I'm trying to get an expert opinion._ She says. _If that's the case I should keep interrupting._ I say, turning to Reimi with a devious smile on my face.

Reimi lightly punches my arm. "I'm sorry." Reimi says.

"I did it on purpose, so technically I should be apologizing, not you." I say.

"Where do we go from here?" she asks.

"For the time being we keep playing by the council's rules." I say.

"After that?" she asks.

"Until we are able to fend for ourselves, we have to play be the rules of the temple. After that I say we shove the rules and do what we want." I say.

Reimi gives me a question glance. I roll my eyes at her. "Once we are free of the rule of the council, we're going to move past friends." I say.

A lightbulb goes off in Reimi's head. Reimi and I have become good at communicating with looks. _You want to date me?_ Reimi asks. _I do, but we need to be free of the council before we can pursue a relationship._ I say. Reimi becomes giddy and gives me a hug. Before I could return the hug Reimi lets go.

"Do me a favor." I say.

"What's that?" Reimi asked.

"Please try to contain your feelings. I want to be open with mine, but the council would disapprove." I say.

"Okay." Reimi says rolling her eyes.

We leave the balcony, and then head our separate ways. I head to the library to do some digging. I boot up a computer and then hit the one of the major news pages to get a feel for what's going on in the galaxy.

First article I come across mentions an insectoid race call the Kedar. A group of aliens that usually keep to themselves, or they interact with mercenaries, has been on the move. No detail about their actions at the moment. _Odd._ I think. I do a search on the alien, and they look like enlarged biped versions of the hissing roaches that were on my home planet. _That's gross!_ I think.

I scroll down two sections when I stop. Sith Lord, Darth Cauis, is moving unchecked throughout the galaxy. I see a picture of the man and my heart stopped. It was the same man that I disfigured over two years ago. The article continues saying that he has entered the Unknown Region of Space and hasn't been seen for some time. I shutdown the computer and head to bed. I now have a name to go with a face. It must really suck to have to all that metal to replace the flesh, bone, and muscle.

Ten years have passed. Reimi, Fidel, myself, and the other students have joined the ranks of the Jedi as fully-fledged jedi. We were all give assignments. Some were paired up, while other were sent out on solo missions. Reimi and Fidel were sent to Onderon. While I was being sent to Mustafar. I know from my studies that Onderon is rule by a monarchy. Mustafar is one big volcano. Why I'm going there is a bit of a mystery. I'm sitting in a chair outside the council chamber waiting for a full rundown of my mission to Mustafar. Reimi and Fidel were exiting when I was called before the council.

"Wait for me in the hanger before leaving." I say to my friends.

"Okay." Reimi says, and then I enter the council chamber.

He door was shutting when I stopped in front of the masters. "Your mission is a critical one." Master Fyyar.

"Okay." I say waiting for further instructions.

"Mustafar is a mining colony, but there is also an imperial outpost there." Master Kallini said.

"What am I supposed to do?" I ask, skeptically.

"We have a contact working at the outpost. You are to rendezvous with them and get a memory stick with information pertaining to the Empire's movements." Master Megara.

"How do I know that I won't be walking into a trap?" I ask.

"You have no guarantee of that." Master Kallini said. "We'll send the necessary information along when you get to Mustafar."

"Do we have a known whereabouts on Darth Cauis?" I ask.

"Darth Cauis is on Coruscant, and has no reason to go to Mustafar. Why would you ask about him?" Master Megara asked.

I look at Theseus. He stares back at me, and then I motion to my face. Theseus completely forgotten about the makeover that I force Cauis to get. "Theseus can explain." I say, and then exit the chamber.

"What does he mean?" Master Kallini asked.

"On screen. Photo mode. Subject: Darth Cauis." Theseus said.

A screen appeared in front of the masters, and then a picture of Darth Cauis appeared. It was after Cauis had his reconstructive surgery. "The reason Ashono brought this up is because if you noticed the metal plates in Darth Cauis' face. Those were grafted on after Darth Cauis after he had a run in with Ashono when he was just a child. Ashono stole Darth Cauis lightsaber, and threw it at him. Darth Cauis didn't move fast enough, and it tore off a portion of his face. I remember that night vividly. Darth Cauis' brain was showing." Theseus said.

"We'll keep an eye on Darth Cauis' movements. Thank you." Master Megara said.

Down in the hanger I find Reimi and Fidel waiting for me. "What's your assignment?" I ask.

"We are to work with the royal family on Onderon, and if necessary go to Dxun and neutralize the threat." Fidel said.

"If you do have to go to Dxun be careful. The people that have colonized that moon are Mandalorian, and they're not fond of jedi." I say.

"Thanks for the info." Fidel said.

Fidel boards the ship. Before Reimi boards, I scanned the hanger making sure no one from the council, or any other student was around, and then I kissed Reimi on the lips. It was a quick kiss that had left Reimi in shock. "Let me know if you run into trouble." I say after I break the kiss.

"Yeah." Reimi says. She kisses me back, and then boards her ship.

Reimi raises the gangway on their ship, and then heads up to the cockpit. Standing outside the ship I can see Reimi in the cockpit windshield, and she waves back. I wave good-bye and then board my ship. I've developed a knack from being able to operate just about any ship. I get clearance from the tower, and I'm heading into space. As I'm leaving the planet's atmosphere I'm making the final preparations for the jump to light speed.

Already in hyperspace, Fidel was checking his console. "I hope you two know what you're doing."

"So do I, Fidel. So do I. Maybe you'll find someone." Reimi said.

"I don't know." he said.

"What's the worst that could happen?" she asked.

"I lose my lover, and possible fall to the dark side." he said.

"You can fall to the dark side if Ashono were to be killed." she countered, knowing that our bond has practically made us family. "Death is a part of life. Accept it, and move on." Reimi said.

"You have definitely been influenced by Ashono." Fidel said.

"I have much to learn, but death will come for us some day. Might as well get used to it, and enjoy life while I can." Reimi says.


	8. Chapter 8

The journey is quite the distance, so I decide to spend it getting some rest in the pod. I didn't know how the pod work twelve years ago, but the instructions for operating the unit were easy enough. It asked for my destination, and then it asked if I wanted to be woken the moment I arrived, or before. I typed in the day before, and then start the pod. I climbed in, and I watched as the glass lid slides into place. And within a few seconds I was asleep.

B.b.B.

Galactic core, Chimera-

Darth Cauis was standing on the bridge when he felt a disturbance in the Force. Cauis had no clue what it was about, but he felt something was going to happen on Mustafar in a few days.

 _Dart Cortana._ Cauis called out into the Force.

 _Yes, my lord._ Cortana responded.

 _Go to the planet Mustafar. I sense that a person of interest will show up there in the next few days._ Cauis said.

 _Yes, my lord._ Cortana said.

B.b.B.

Onderon-

As Reimi and Fidel had landed on Onderon they were greeted by an envoy from the royal family. The envoy was made up of the royal attendant, and her four guards.

"I'm Princess Mitra Raan, and allow me to be the first to greet you to our great planet, Onderon." Mitra said.

"The pleasure is ours. My name Is Reimi Leingod, and this is Fidel Ors." Reimi said.

"How long are you staying?" one of the guards asked.

"We weren't told how long this assignment was to last." Fidel said. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Vaan is referring to the incident a few thousand years ago. My ancestor worked with the Jedi to end the civil war between herself, the queen, and her brother. Vaan means well, so please don't stress him." Mitra said.

"Vaan may mean well, but may I remind him that it was his liege, the king, is the one who sent for our aid. Does the servant know better than the king?" Fidel asked.

"No, I wouldn't go against the kings orders." Vaan said, grudgingly.

"Good, but I could use your help." Fidel said.

"Oh." Vaan said.

"You have access to data about the Mandalorian colony on Dxun. I want full access to the information, so we can formulate a strategy if they invade, or we have to attack them." Fidel said.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Vaan said, and then turned a led the group back to the castle.

Fidel noticed Mitra staring at him, and she smiled when they made eye contact. Fidel nodded, and they turned and walked away. _Wow, Fidel. You have the attention of the princess, and we've been planet side all twenty minutes._ Reimi said through the Force.

 _I'm sure the king is going to be happy about that._ he replied.

 _Be on your guard. You may be require to guard her._ she warned.

 _And._ he said.

 _You know full well what I'm getting at._ she said.

 _So you want me to get close to her, but not get close to her._ he said.

 _Why not. Although I would definitely do so cautiously._ Reimi said.

 _That's putting it mildly._ Fidel said.

The two friends joined the conversation as they entered the city.

B.b.B.

Mustafar-

 _This is a crazy planet._ I think as I'm scanning the landscape as the ship is heading towards the outpost. I knew from my studies that the planet was one giant volcano, but seeing is believing as the saying goes. I noticed a few creatures on the horizon, a few that I sense through the force. Others that are as big as that Stnari that I tangled with over a decade ago. I see that outpost in the distance, but I find a landing zone away from the settlement as a safety precaution. As I was touching down, I feel a tremor in the Force. I scan the area, but nothing is out of the ordinary. I get the sense that something, or someone is watching me but I can't get a line of sight on them.

 _Or it._ I think.

I get out of my ship wearing the clothes that the council provided for me so I could fit in at the outpost until I could meet with the contact, and get off planet.

B.b.B.

Moon over Yavin IV-

Theseus was walking through the halls of the temple when he heard a voice, ever so faintly.

 _Prepare yourself for I am coming._ the voice in the Force said.

Theseus didn't have any doubts that this person was coming, but what made his skin crawl was the person who spoke the warning.

"Darth Cauis." Theseus said.

"How long?" Master Megara asked.

"I have no idea where Cauis is in the galaxy at the moment." Theseus said turning to address the council.

"Should we recall the students?" Kallini asked.

"They'd never make it. Anyways I want Ashono, Fidel, and Reimi as far away from this place anyways." Theseus said.

"Why? Why do you want Ashono, Fidel, and Reimi to stay away?" Kallini asked.

"Actually, I want Ashono to stay away, but Fidel and Reimi are important to." Theseus said.

"What is Ashono to Darth Cauis?" Master Jyn asked.

"Ashono is special to Darth Cauis." Theseus said.

B.b.B.

Mustafar-

I was making my way back to my ship when I was set upon by a dark jedi. She had a red saber, and a set of black robes like me. We didn't even move at first. All we did is stare at each other. Then simultaneously, we shrug our robes off as she begins to speak.

"What's your name boy?" she asks.

"Boy? Your ignorance is showing." I say.

"You can't be older than nineteen." She said.

"By technicality I'm old enough to drink legally, but that's beside the point. You might want to be mindful of the person you are belittling, or you might end up like your master." I say.

"What do you know about Darth Cauis?" she asked.

"I know that he didn't have that metal plate on his face until twelve years ago." I say as I pulled my one saber of my belt.

"So what if he had the metal plate grafted onto his skull. That's common knowledge." she said.

"True, except for the fact that I made him get it." I say.

"Made him get it?" she asked.

"Yeah. It was an encounter with me that made the metal plate necessary." I say.

"Your point?" she asked.

"My point is I'm the reason the metal plate was necessary. I used his own lightsaber to kill him, but I cut off half his skull instead." I said activating my saber, the black blade springing to life.

It was a few moment before the apprentice spoke again. I could feel the anger radiating off her in waves through the Force. "Are you ready to die for your egregious mistake?" she asked.

"Are you going to tell me your name at least?" I asked.

"Knowing my name will serve no purpose seeing as how you're about to die." she said.

"Humor me." I said with a chuckle.

Before she spoke I could feel the Force to begin to buzzing from her, but I can sense the presence of a creature coming our way. And it's a big one. "It's Darth Cortana." she said.

Just as she was about to attack me, at spiked tail been driven between the two off us. Whatever the creature is, it was trying to hit me first. We both turn and looked at the creature. The tail had two spike protruding from the end of the tail that was nine feet long. The creature was all torso, which was about twelve feet long and eleven feet wide, and had six jointed legs coming off of it, three on each side. The side that was facing us was all mouth, and that thing was wide enough to stuff either one of us in whole without having to break any limbs.

"Watch the tail!" I warn, and then charge the beast.

Cortana was distracted by the tail, as I was trying to find a weak spot in the creature's chitinous armor. As Cortana parry's the thrust of the tail, I leap up onto the beast back, per se, and scan for a weakness. I brush my saber against its back, and I'm rewarded with a shriek, but I didn't damage the carapace. _It must have nerve endings in the carapace._ I think. I try to hold onto one of the spike that was dotted across the creatures back. Then all of a sudden the spike wriggle loose, and I realized that it was a tiny creature that had made its home on the back of the bigger one. _Or it was just an added defense mechanism that the beast developed._ I think as I backflip off the beast, sticking the landing. That was when I noticed that the belly of the beast was exposed, but I didn't get a chance to think on it because the beast was coming after me

 _Now we have to get under the beast and split its belly open._ I think as I make my way away from the creature's maw. I reach out in the Force to communicate with Cortana.

 _The topside of the beast is guarded with by a thick carapace. The weak point is the creature's belly. How do you want to play this?_ I ask.

 _I have a say in the matter?_ Cortana asks.

 _I could have bailed already and left you to face the thing, or we could take this thing down and get back to our duel._ I say.

I watch as Cortana had severed the tip of the tail, and then charged the beast. As Cortana approached, the beast reared up on its hind legs preparing to crush her, but Cortana threw her lightsaber. Guiding it with the Force, Cortana had split the belly of the beast open, its intestines and other internal organ spilling out onto the scorched earth. I prepared for a duel, but all Cortana did was deactivate her lightsaber and walk away. Not even a backwards glance. I'm skeptical at first, but I turn and make my way back to my ship.

As I'm leaving the planet, and making the jump to hyperspace so I can make the drop, I begin to wondering why Cortana really showed. She was prepared to kill me at first, but after the beast was taken down she didn't want to fight me. Could she have had orders to let me go after assessing my abilities? Is she going to let her master have a crack at me instead of doing it herself? I don't know the reason, but I'm going to head to Onderon after I make the drop. I don't share the values of the Jedi. On top of them leaving my mom to be murdered by that monster. I head back to the stasis chamber, and sleep until I reach my destination.

B.b.B.

Onderon-

Reimi and Fidel were standing by the shuttle that would take the science team and a detachment of royal guards to the moon of Dxun. The friends had their doubts that this would be a fruitful expedition, but their orders were to protect the members of the royal family. Their opinions on the matter didn't matter, albeit, Reimi approached Mitra.

"For the record, I think this is a bad idea." Reimi said.

"Agreed, but we have our orders." Mitra said.

Mitra, Reimi, Fidel, and a contingent of guards boarded the shuttle. The science team was already on board. As the shuttle was making its way to the moon, Reimi reached out in the Force.

 _Ashono._ she said.

 _Yeah, babe._ I said.

 _AWE! You called me babe. How sweet!_ she gushed.

 _What do you need_? I asked chuckling.

 _We're heading to Dxun. So if you could make your way here as soon as possible._ Reimi said.

 _Be there as soon as I make the drop._ I said.

 _Be on your guard. There's a sith temple on the moon._ Reimi said.

 _Thank._ I said.

"What did Ashono said?" Fidel asked.

"He had to make a drop, but would come as soon as possible." Reimi said.

B.b.B.

Moon orbiting Yavin IV-

"Our long range scanners have picked up an incoming fleet." radio operator said.

"How long?" Megara asked.

"Thirty-five, forty-five minutes tops." Kallini said looking over the radio operator's shoulder.

"Theseus?" Megara said.

"Why are you looking at me? Start evacuating as many students as possible." Theseus said.

"We're going to need you to hold them off." Kallini said.

"I'll stay with him." Master Jyn said.

Theseus watched as the sith fleet got closer. He heard the alarm blaring for a general evacuation, but didn't move. It didn't take long for Darth Cauis to reach out again.

 _Theseus. Theseus Erso, is that you?_ Cauis said.

 _One in the same Darth Cauis._ Theseus said back.

A force project of Darth Cauis appeared in the command center.

" _I thought you had died all those years ago._ " Cauis said.

"You aren't very perceptive then because I was the man that killed you apprentice twelve years ago." Theseus said.

It took Darth Cauis a few minutes to remember the day in question. " _So that was you on the cliff that day. I'm shocked that I missed you. I won't make that same mistake twice._ " Caius said.

"We won't give you the chance." Master Jyn said.

" _Master Fyyar, still teaching at the academy, I see. Haven't you've grown tired of teach all those brats yet?_ " Cauis asked.

"I don't know who you are?" Jyn said.

" _Actually you do._ " Cauis said.

"Darth Cauis' name before he fell was Shikora Katarn." Theseus said.

" _I didn't realize that you were that knowledgeable Theseus._ " Cauis said with a prideful smile on his face.

"Katarn. As in Ashono Katarn?" Jyn asked.

" _Ashono Katarn? Who is Ashono Katarn?_ " Cauis asked.

"You'll meet him in the near future. Just know that Ashono Katarn is a relative." Theseus said.

" _The Katarn name died when I fell, so I have no relatives._ " Cauis said.

"Keep telling yourself that." Theseus said.

" _That I shall._ " Cauis said, and then his Force projection disappeared from the room.

"Ashono's father is Darth Cauis, but who was the mother?" Jyn asked.

"Her name was Kyra Skywalker. But her given name was Kyra Fett." Theseus said.

"I'm sorry did you say Fett?" she asked.

"Yep. My apprentice is part Jedi, part Mandalorian." he said.

"And you didn't feel the need warn the council?" she asked.

"You felt how powerful Ashono was. If I left him to his own devices, he would have been dead within a day. Not only that we have the means to stop Darth Cauis from spreading across the galaxy without sacrificing anymore of our ranks." he said. "What was Shikora's mission before falling to the Dark side?"

"I don't know. All I know is that he was investigating the sith activity out in the Unknown Region of space." she said.

"You have to go." he said.

"I'm not leaving." she said.

"The sith will be here any moment now, and we need to get as many Jedi out. My time has come." he said.

"If you can send Ashono a message, tell him where to meet us." Jyn said, and then left the room.

"I shall." Theseus said.

Jyn exited out the main entrance of the command center, and then headed to the hangers, while Theseus went out the side door, which dumped him out in front of the temples' main entrance. Theseus entered a meditative state, and waited for Darth Cauis' to arrive.


	9. Chapter 9

I was coming out of cryo-sleep when I had ten minutes left until my arrival. I was getting used to this routine that I had already prepared the drink necessary to shake off the residual effects of the sleep. As I'm entering the cockpit, my ship was dropping out of hyperspace. My mouth almost hit the floor. I was supposed to see an artificial construct for me to meet the person who was sympathetic to the Jedi cause, but there was nothing left but a huge debrief field. Before I could react, I sense that whatever caused this destruction was still around. And before my sensors registered anything I gunned the engines, entering the coordinates for Onderon. I see the first blip on my radar of the incoming ship.

I reached out in the Force to get a sense of who my opponent was, and I was in shock at what I discovered. Just as the first attack grazed my shields I had made the jump to light speed. My mouth is dry after what I just felt. I realize that my mouth is still hanging open. I close and swallow at the same as I acknowledge what I just experienced.

 _That was the Kedar. But what were they doing out here? I don't think they attacked the station I was supposed to be going to._ I think.

I don't bother going to sleep. I was too wired for sound, and Onderon is only a day's journey. So I get comfortable, and meditate the entire way.

B.b.B.

Dxun-

"This is almost too easy." Fidel said.

"After the revolt that the Mandalorians assisted with in past, the royal family has kept friendly relationship with them. A few of the past rulers wanted nothing to do with them, but some part of the royal court has always been in good standings with the group." Mitra said.

"Thanks for the information, Princess Mitra. I know that Mandalorians don't always see eye to eye with Jedi though." Reimi said.

"We sent an envoy to the Mandalorians after your arrival to inform them of your presence." Vaan said.

"Where are we heading to anyways?" Reimi asked.

"There's a sith temple north of our position." Vaan said.

"And the purpose of this expedition?" Fidel asked not even bothering to hide his displeasure at finding where their destination was.

"Our scientist have discovered how to harness dark energy. The closest site to access dark energy is the sith temple here on Dxun. Is that going to be a problem?" one of the scientist asks.

"Yeah. There is a reason that Jedi usually steer clear of anything associated with the sith." Fidel said.

At this moment Fidel felt Reimi reaching out in the Force to communicate with me.

 _Hey babe, where are you?_ she asked.

 _I'm two hours out. Is there a problem?_ I asked.

 _The royal family sent a team of scientist and a contingent of guards to the sith temple on Dxun. Fidel and I were told to follow._ she said.

 _Don't touch any artifacts until I get there._ I said.

 _You got it._ Reimi said.

"What did Ashono have to say?" Fidel asked.

"He said not to touch any artifacts until he gets here." Reimi said.

"We still have research to conduct." Another scientist said.

"He knows that you're going to go into the temple no matter what he says, he just wants you not to touch any of the artifacts until he gets here." Reimi said.

"How long until your friend gets here?" Mitra asked.

"Two hours." Reimi said.

"Continue as planned, and follow the new instructions." Mitra said.

"We have orders from the king that say we can do whatever is necessary to achieve our goals." the first scientist said.

"My father did say that, but seeing as how he also sent the Jedi along as experts on the subject, who are you going to listen too, the Jedi or the king?" Mitra asked.

"You're playing a dangerous game, princess." Vaan said.

"I'm trying keep those under my care from being killed." Mitra said to Vaan.

The caravan carried onto the temple and began to set up equipment for the experiments. Two hours later Reimi received a message from me.

 _I just landed. Which way to the temple?_ I asked.

Reimi sent a burst of Force energy out for me to follow. After the burst had been sent the atmosphere became electrified, and the temperature dropped about ten degrees, but everything returned to normal. Whatever cause the phenomenon to occur had passed, and everything returned to normal.

Thirty minutes after the incident Reimi and Fidel were by themselves, out of earshot of the team, but still able to watch everything happen. I snuck up behind Reimi, and pinched her butt.

"EK!" Reimi exclaimed, and then she turned around and punched my arm.

"Something wrong?" Vaan asked.

"No. Our friend here was teasing Reimi." Fidel said.

"And you are?" Vaan asked.

"My name is Ashono Katarn, and I am not your enemy." I said.

"Ashono it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Princess Mitra Raan, and this is my personal bodyguard, Vaan." the princess said approaching me.

I bowed my head to the princess, and shook hands with Vaan, and everybody returned to their duties. I climb up onto a ledge to keep an eye on everything, but mostly I'm trying to keep tabs on the Force readings in this place. I felt a spike in the Force after Reimi sent me that message, but it tapered off shortly afterwards.

The sun was starting to go down, and the science team started to make camp inside the temple. I said that it was a bad idea, but they said that it was safer in the temple than out in the jungle.

"Leave it be Ashono." Fidel said grabbing my arm.

I was going to continue to argue, but Reimi's gentle touch and one look and I thought otherwise. I walked to the entrance of the temple, and stared out over the temple grounds. I sensed her before she even opened her mouth.

"What do you want, princess?" I asked.

"The shelter of the temple is wiser than sleeping out in the open jungle." Mitra said.

"The animals don't scare me." I said.

"Whatever is in the temple does?" she asks.

"It's not fear that makes me argue. The Dark side here is strong, oppressive. Very few enter here." I said.

"The last time this temple had guest was a few thousand years ago, during the uprising between my relative and her brother." she said.

"Believe me when I say that it's easier to face those beast out there, than the ones that reside in the temple. The creature in this temple is much older, more insidious, and more lethal. Stay near either myself, Reimi, or Fidel." I cautioned.

Mitra studied me a bit, and then nodded. I watched her walk away, and then I felt a disturbance in the Force coming from within the temple. I went to find Reimi and Fidel, but they found me first.

"What do we do?" Reimi asked.

"You two keep an eye on the princess." I said.

"I won't let you go in by yourself." Reimi said.

"We can't leave our charge." Fidel said.

"But—" Reimi continued to protest, but I cut her off by kissing her flush on the lips. Fidel was silent, but I can tell by his presence in the Force he was taken back by my kiss. "Don't worry. I'll be back." I said.

I made my way deeper into the temple as the princess was walking over to talk to Fidel and Reimi. "Is it wise for your friend to be going deeper into the temple by himself?"

"Out of everybody present, Ashono is the only one qualified to handle that task." Fidel said.

"The two of us could go, but we are required to keep an eye on you and your group." Reimi said.

"I'll send Vaan to assist." Mitra said.

"Believe us when we tell you Vaan will not be of any use if Ashono runs into a sith wraith." Fidel said.

"A sith wraith. What is that?" Mitra asked.

"Only Jedi are able to become one with the Force, and have the ability to come back into this world as a Force ghost. A sith can never become one with the Force, and are doomed to wander eternity as a vengeful spirit seeking retribution." Reimi explained.

It took Mitra a moment to process what Reimi just explained, and then went to tell her team to stay within eye contact of another person. She suggested that no one should work alone, and that starting tomorrow that there will be teams of two.

"Why did you let the Jedi spook you?" Vaan asked.

"Because they were brought along to protect us from whatever could be in this temple. I think it's time we start taking them seriously." Mitra said.

"You think that whatever haunts this old place is beyond our capability?" Vaan asked.

At that moment the foundation of the temple shook violently. Vaan ate his words, and Mitra could see it in his eyes. The science team, and the rest of the guards came in close. Reimi and Fidel took turns keeping watch as the princess and her people slept. Deep in the temple I felt the Force fluctuate like nothing I've ever felt before. Then all of a sudden I felt a disturbance in the Force, and this wasn't here on the moon. It was coming from a great distance away from here.

I can almost sense what happened, but then the temple violently shook again. I found were the source of the disturbance, and ran all the way there. I could feel a great surge in the Force, as if two powerful beings were having it out. I found the room were the sarcophagus was stored and it was just that. A sith wraith and a force ghost locked in combat. I shut myself off to the Force, so they wouldn't know I was in the room. It was a few moments before the force ghost triumphed over the wraith, and I was in shock.

"Mom." I said opening myself back up to the Force again.

My mom was in shock when she felt my presence. She turned around and look at me. "Ashono. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was called here by… well, by my girlfriend." I said, kind of taken back by calling Reimi my girlfriend out loud.

"You shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous." She said.

"There are members from the royal family on Onderon and a science team too. They're studying dark energy." I said.

"Take me to the science team." my mom said.

"This way." I said.

I turn and make my way to the team. When I get there I call the princess and Vaan to a private corner. "What do you want?" Vaan asked.

"We need to leave this place." I said.

"I know you already said that." Mitra said.

"Your presence here is causing a disturbance in the Force. Your tests are waking up sith lords that should stay asleep." my mom said, appearing out of thin air. Reimi and Ashono caught sight of the Force ghost, and made their way over to the group. The princess and Vann took a step back from my mom.

"We've been told by our scientists that using dark energy could help improve our day to day lives." Vaan said.

"That may be true, but it's not worth the trouble of waking the dead." My mom said.

"Dark energy could give us a better energy source. One that is cleaner than what we are already using now." a scientist said.

"Nothing, even a better energy source, is worth waking a dead sith lord." I said.

"That's easy for you to say." another scientist said.

"Is it? How about all those people who have been slaughtered, or enslave by Darth Cauis? Do you think they would agree with you?" I asked.

"Sooner or later Darth Cauis will come to Onderon." Reimi said.

"You don't know that." Mitra said.

"Sith are drawn to large establishments. So it's not out of the question." Fidel said.

"We've been here for sixteen hours, you expect us to pack up and leave?" Vann asked.

"The sith lords of old are a different beast compared to the Darth Cauis and his brood." my mom said.

"We just can't leave. We have so much work left to achieve." the first scientist said.

"If you don't leave now, you might not make it back to study the data properly." my mom said.

"Is that a threat?" Mitra asked.

"She's saying that she won't be able to stop the sith lord for slaughtering everybody here." Fidel said.

"And then some." Reimi muttered.

"Your father sent for their help, and he sent them along as extra protection. There's an old say, that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure." my mom said Mitra.

"Hey." another scientist said. "We have three jedi. We could always have them manipulate the Force."

That thought, one that never crossed Reimi or Fidel's mind, spread like wild fire. The science team started packing their gear, and preparing for the journey back to the shuttle. As the science team, the guards were filing out we had another visitor in the form of a Force ghost.

"Theseus. What happened?" Reimi asked.

"He's dead. And if I had to guess it was Darth Cauis." Fidel said.

"Yes, Darth Cauis was the man who murdered me, but that isn't why I'm here. The council wants a word with you Ashono, and by the time you get to them they will be inform of your heritage." Theseus said.

"I don't really care." I said.

"That's a problem because?" Fidel asked.

"Ashono's heritage is one part outcast." my mom said.

"One part outcast?" Reimi asked.

"Reimi. Ashono's birth mom is Krya Skywalker, her. His father was formally known as Shikora Katarn." Theseus said.

"You took you father's name?" Reimi asked.

"Theseus made me take my father's name." I said.

"What is the name you had before it was changed?" Fidel asked.

"His given name is Ashono Fett, which was my surname I was born with, and when his father killed me." Kyra said.

"Wait! What? THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!" I said.

"What's not possible?" Reimi asked.

"I'm sorry. Can we go back? You said that his last name is Fett? As in Fett, the Mandalorian term for farmer, Fett?" Fidel asked.

"Yeah." Ashono said.

There was a moment of silence before Fidel said. "Guess that explains why you're a savant when it comes to using two weapons."

"What's not possible?" Reimi asked.

"Theirs is no way that monster is my father!" I said.

"Shikora Katarn died on duty in the Unknown Region of Space." Fidel said.

"Fidel Ashono's dad isn't dead." Reimi said cautiously.

"He's not my dad." I said.

"That may be true, but he is still your biological father." Theseus said.

I'm about to blow a fuse, so I walk away to catch my breath. There was a moment of silence before Fidel asked. "Who's Ashono's father?"

"His father didn't die. By technicality, the name Shikora Katarn died, and it's was replaced by Darth Cauis." Theseus said.

"Darth Cauis killed you, and Ashono couldn't do anything to stop it." Reimi said.

"Yes." Kyra said.

"Ashono I bring word from the council." Theseus said.

"What do they want with me?" I asked rejoining the group again.

"They fled the temple on the moon, and went to an old temple on Dantooine. They're not happy about the fact that I lied about you being a Mandalorian." Theseus said.

"I'm a Mandalorian too, and they had no problem training me." Kyra said.

"They were never inform that you were Mandalorian, either." Theseus said.

"Why should I bother?" I asked.

"They can give you resources to take down Darth Cauis." Theseus said.

"With pleasure." I said, and started to walk away.

"Ashono, where are you going?" Reimi asked.

"To Dantooine." I said.

"Just like that." Fidel asked.

"That was the purpose of me being sent to the temple wasn't?" I asked Theseus and my mom.

Theseus looked at some point in the distance, whereas, my mom nodded her head. I shake my head in disgust at the pair. "Come on I'll give you a lift back to the palace." I said to Reimi and Fidel.

At that point there was a message that was being sent through the Force. _All Jedi and apprentices please report to the temple on Dantooine._

"Fidel. Reimi. Are you two coming back to the palace with us?" Mitra asked entering the temple.

"We just received word. We have to report to the council to discuss am urgent matter." Reimi said.

"We can give you dark energy to get your studies going." Fidel said.

"Okay." Mitra said.

I caught a micro expression of sadness before Mitra spoke. "I'll inform his majesty, the king, of the development."

Just as she started to walk away, Master Megara spoke to Fidel through the Force. _Fidel you are to stay with the Royal family on Onderon, while Reimi and Ashono are to report to Dantooine._

"Yes, Master Megara. Princess Mitra, wait up." Fidel said, and then ran to catch up with Mitra.

We couldn't hear the conversation between the two of them, but the kiss that Mitra gave Fidel was more than enough to let us know that she was beyond happy that Fidel was staying. What was even better was that Fidel return the kiss.

"Let's get out of here." I said to Reimi.

B.b.B.-

Twenty minutes after Darth Cauis landed on the Moon orbiting Yavin IV-

"Stand down." Darth Cauis said to his men.

Theseus turned to face Darth Cauis, and the two men just stared at each other. Theseus raised his purple blade, and Darth Cauis ignited his light saber raising his red blade to a defensive position.

 _So long old friend._ Darth Cauis said to Theseus.

 _So long._ Theseus said to Darth Cauis.


	10. Chapter 10

Theseus was limping, and drawing on the Force heavily, using it to augment his abilities, so he could keep up with Darth Cauis but it was of no use. Darth Cauis' next strike was into Theseus' chest, killing him instantly. Darth Cauis knelt over Theseus' body, and closed his eyes. "Good-bye old friend."

Darth Cauis, who was meditating, opened his eyes to see the aftermath of his army storming the temple. There were scorch marks from when the troops tried storming the grounds, but most of the Jedi had already escaped. Darth Cauis was waiting for one of his troops to come back with information of where they fled too.

"Lord, Cauis." Darth Cortana said, approaching her master.

"Report, Cortana." Cauis said.

"On Mustafar I ran into the boy who had disfigured your face." she said.

"And?" he asked.

"The boy has a decent amount of control over the Force. He is not to be taken lightly." Cortana cautioned

"Understood." Cauis said.

"Lord Caius." General Ordona said approaching Cauis.

"Yes, General Ordona." Cauis said, both he and his apprentice turning to face the general.

"We found where the Jedi fled too." Ordona said.

"Where?" Cortana asked.

"Dantooine." Ordona said.

"Set a course Dantooine when the troops have boarded the ships." Darth Cauis said, and the turned to leave. Darth Cortana was right on his heels.

B.b.B.

Dantooine-

Reimi and I had landed on Dantooine all of two seconds before Master Megara had descended on me. "Where you able to make the drop?" Megara asked.

"So nice to see you too." I said.

"Ashono." Reimi cautioned.

"Answer the question boy." Master Cara said.

"Really? Boy?" I countered

"You maybe a man by galactic standards, but in the Force, you are but a child." Master Jyn said.

"Be that as it may, why do I get the feeling that I'm going to be the one to challenge Darth Cauis anyways?" I asked.

"What gives you that stupid idea?" Master Kallini asked.

"A couple of Force ghosts told me." I said.

"Really?" Megara asked.

"And to answer your question, Master Megara. Yes I did make the drop, except the Kedar were there. I don't know if they were waiting for me, or what, but they were at the drop point. And the station I was supposed to land on had been destroyed. Reimi and Fidel had for assistance, so I Went to aid them." I said.

"The Kedar. I thought they were an outsider. That they mostly kept to themselves." Master Jyn said.

"The Kedar have been active for the past ten years." I said. The council was disturbed by the fact that I had been keeping tabs on the Kedar. "This is a surprise?" I asked.

"How did you know that the Kedar had been active for over a decade?" Master Cara asked.

"I did my homework. Like it was the Darth Cauis who had murdered my mother and made it necessary for me to be trained by the Jedi." I said.

"Who made it necessary?" Megara asked.

"My mom and Theseus." I said.

Master Megara started to speak, but I felt a disturbance in the Force. I felt Reimi acknowledge the disturbance, but the council didn't feel it. _It's the sith!_ Reimi thought. _Wonderful!_ I think.

"Ashono are you listening to me?" Megara said.

"No, I wasn't." I said. "Reimi and I just felt a disturbance in the Force. The sith fleet is heading this way, right now. And I have no clue how long until they get here." I said.

But it was too late. A few cloaked sith assassins had already infiltrated the council room and positioned themselves to strike a grievous blow. Reimi and I were able to react and take most of the assassins, but a few of the assassins were able to kill a couple of the council members.

"Ashono, when are they arriving?" Master Kallini asked.

"If their assassins had already infiltrated the room, I'd say that the rest of the ground forces will be here shortly." I said.

I looked at Reimi, and we both draw our sabers, and exit the main hall. By the time we exited the main building, we can see the skiffs landing ground troops. And there were dozens of them. _Master Megara, start evacuating the general population. We'll buy you some time._ I said though the Force.

"Not by yourself you won't." Master Cara said.

"And you two aren't the ones who will be buying sometime." Master Kallini said.

We turned to see the rest of the Jedi council exiting the building, and draw the sabers. Before we could leave I felt his presence. I turned back to see Darth Cauis, and his apprentice, at the head contingent of troopers.

"So you must be Ashono Katarn. I've heard so much about you." Darth Cauis said.

"And you must be Darth Cauis, and I've been waiting for this moment for quite some time." I said.

"Let it go Ashono." Megara said.

"Why should he. That boy has so much to show me, and a lot to answer for." Cauis said.

"Why is that?" Reimi asked.

"I'm the one that made him beautiful." I said.

Cauis stared at me for a beat.

"You don't remember me?" I asked.

Cauis stared at me some more. His apprentice must have said something to get Cauis' attention because he looked over her. When he did she motioned with her hand to his face.

"Oh." Cauis said to his apprentice. "So you're the one I've been looking for." Cauis said to me.

"You did that to his face?" Reimi asked in shocked amazement. All of a sudden, Reimi remembered the conversation on Dxun "You did that to your own…"

"Don't you dare use that word in the same sentence with that man." I said cutting Reimi off.

Before anybody could react I activate my saber, the black blade springing to life, deflecting a single blaster bolt that fired while we were distracted. I redirected the bolt back at Cauis, but Cortana deflected the bolt away from him. The blade had gotten Cauis' attention.

"Where did you get that saber, boy?" Cauis asked.

"Who are you calling boy? If I was you I wouldn't underestimate you opponent." I cautioned, deactivating the blade and clipping the weapon back onto my belt

"Something you always did when you were a student at the temple." Master Jyn said stepping front of me and Reimi.

"Seriously, Master Jyn? You're going to try to shame me again?" Cauis said.

"If you must know I took it from the training room on the moon orbiting Yavin IV." I said.

"Really. So you were the next one to pull the saber from the pedestal. Very few people have been able to pull that feat off." Cauis said.

Cortana summoned a Force push of massive proportions, and sent it at us. Reimi had stepped in front of Master Jyn, and just I had wave her attacks off, redirected the attack away from us. Reimi batting the Force attack away like it was an annoying fly made both Darth Cauis and Darth Cortana jaws drop.

"Reimi, let's go." I said, grabbing her hand, and turning into the temple.

Reimi didn't try to protest, and we were out of sight before either side could respond.

"Don't let them escape!" Darth Cauis exclaimed, as the fight broke out.

The Jedi put up a fight, buying us time to get to the shuttle before any of the sith forces could enter the temple. I was prepping the shuttle for take-off when I felt Darth Cauis send a message to the sith fleet orbiting the planet. I reached out in the Force to get a feel for where the fleet was. I could feel the people towards the southern pole of the planet, so I took us towards the northern pole. The ships long range scanner had picked up the fleet when we left the atmosphere.

"I have a ship on the long range scanner." Reimi said.

"That won't be a problem." I said because I had just finished putting in the coordinates for the jump to light speed. We could barely make out a Star Destroyer when our ship had jumped to light speed.

"What's the plan?" Reimi asked.

"We're heading to Onderon, from there into the Unknown Regions." I said.

"Are you sure we should head into the Unknown Regions?" she asked.

"I'm going to teach you a technique that will make our time out there easier." I said.

"Why are we going to Onderon?" she asked.

"We're going on the run. I'm going to convince the king to allow us to take his daughter with us. That way Fidel won't have any distractions." I said.

"Good call. Speaking of distractions, how long until we get to Onderon?" Reimi asked.

"Two days, why?" I asked.

Reimi gave me one of her looks that I had seen back when we were on the moon. "Oh. I think there is a bed in the back." I said.

Reimi and I got up and made our way to the back of the ship, finding a bed in the aft section. I test the softness of the bed and find that it was just right. I turn to see Reimi was staring me down, and I could feel her in the Force and the emotions that flowed were a culmination of everything that had been building since we first met twelve years ago.

"I have no idea what to expect, but I'm guessing it's going to be something I have never experienced before." I said as we lost ourselves in the moment.

B.b.B.

Dantooine, planet side-

Darth Cauis forces were able to overcome the Jedi, but they paid dearly for it. The Jedi council was in ruins. Those who weren't killed outright, were wounded and driven from the temple. More than ninety percent of the students were evacuated safely. Kallini and Cara had instructions from Megara to take the students to Tython. The women were a bit disturbed about taking the students to a sector of the galaxy that was close to the headquarters of the sith empire.

Master Megara, Jyn, and a few of the other jedi masters had fallen. Darth Cauis was using the Force to repair the damage he had received in the fight. Darth Cortana had received what would have been a fatal wound, but used the Force to sustain her until the fight was over. Now she was in a Bacta tank recovering. Cauis sensed a student that had refused to leave with the Jedi.

"Tell me whelp. What is your name?" Cauis asked.

"My name is Fayt Sheerk, and I pledge my allegiance to you." Fayt said.

There was a moment of silence, which made Fayt feel like he may have made a mistake. But Darth Cauis was thinking. "What do you know?" Cauis asked.

"Just the basics that the Jedi taught me." Fayt said.

"Just the basics." Cauis said.

"Yep." Fayt said.

"This is going to be fun." Cauis said.

B.b.B.

Onderon-

Reimi and I were landing on Onderon to a royal welcoming. We could see Mitra who was flanked by Vaan and Fidel. But what stood out was that the king himself had come to greet us.

"Ashono Fett, and Reimi Leingod. What brings you to my humble world?" the king asked.

"We came to restock before we head into the Unknown Regions." I said.

"Why do you want to head into the Unknown Regions?" the king asked.

"Because the Jedi council has fallen, and the Jedi have been routed." Fidel said.

"How is that possible?" Mitra asked.

"Is that true?" the king asked.

"Yes. I would like a word with you in private. If that is okay?" I asked the king.

"Yes, let's walk in the square. Vaan, would you please make the necessary arrangements for another room to be made?" the king asked.

"Yes, my lord." Vaan said.

Fidel and I shared, and from the look I was receiving Fidel knew of our intimate encounter. But that was a conversation for another time. At the moment the king and I start our walk through the square.

"So what do you need?" the king asked when the royal envoy was out of ear shot.

"I'm taking Fidel and Reimi with me into the Unknown Regions. Reimi is my girlfriend, and Fidel is like a brother to me. What I'm about to ask next is ludacris, but it is necessary to protect the royal family, and Fidel." I said.

"You want me to send Mitra away with you, right?" the king asked.

"Yes." I said.

"Now why would I do that?" the king asked, pulling up short.

"If I leave taking only Fidel, Darth Cauis will come for Mitra, and believe he will come here, and he will use your daughter against us and you. I'm guessing that Mitra is the last heir to the Onderon throne." I said.

"She is." The king said.

I was about to speak again, but something stopped me. I sensed something about the king's demeanor that meant that there was a coming change in the future. "You have no intention of making Mitra queen." I said.

"Over a century ago, the ruling monarch said that if the next heir to the throne was a girl, that the monarchy should be disbanded and that a government be set that held regular elections." the king said.

"Why the change? Naboo has had a monarchy for millennia." I said.

"That's an elective monarchy, which is better than our monarchy, but it was decided that we do away with the monarchy form of ruling and join the rest of the galaxy. Do you know how many civil wars we've had because of the monarchy system of ruling?" the king asked.

"I'm guessing that it's been quite a few." I said.

"That's putting it mildly. We almost had a civil war ten years ago. And the decision to do away with the monarchy came on the heels of another civil war. So you can take my daughter with you, but if you're so certain that the sith will come for us, I want you to come back and start the revolution from Onderon." The king said.

"Yes, you highness." I said with a bow.

We start walking again, heading back to the castle, but we do so in silence. When we get to the castle, the king pulls up short again, and asks. "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as humanly possible." I said.

The king nods his head, and then we part ways. The king to his office, and I went to go find Reimi, Fidel, and Mitra to lay out our next move.


	11. Chapter 11

I found Reimi in the dining room snacking on one of the planet's many delicacies. I'm in shock on how she talked somebody into making it for her. When she saw me, Reimi waved me over to the table. _How did you talk somebody into making that for you?_ I asked unable to keep the look of shock off my face. _I asked nicely. That and they offered to make it for me._ Reimi said.

"Then I might as well have a bite." I said taking a seat across from Reimi.

 _When do we leave?_ Fidel asked.

 _We'll get to that in a little bit._ Reimi said.

 _Mitra and I are in the gardens._ Fidel said.

 _Be there in a bit._ I said.

Just as I finish responding to Fidel I felt a whisper in the Force. Coming from an area of space I haven't been in over a decade. The whispers were barely audible, but they were very clear. _Finish your war. We will be waiting._

I have no idea what they meant by _they will be waiting_ , but the war couldn't be more obvious. Darth Cauis, but I have no intention of tangling with that man, albeit, one day I will have to. Reimi and I finish eating, but there was a servant waiting to clear the table. I raise an eyebrow at Reimi, and then we leave heading up to the gardens.

"I can't leave the palace. I'm the next in line to take over as ruler of Onderon." Mitra said when we stepped into the gardens.

"Nice to see you too, princess." Reimi said.

"The king already gave his blessing." I said.

Both Mitra and Fidel looked at me in shock. They had expect many outcomes, but that wasn't one of them.

"Princess Mitra."

We all turned to see a servant standing in the entrance. "Yes." Mitra said.

"Your father, the king, has asked to see you. He is in the library." the servant said.

Mitra got up and left with the servant to go see her father. Neither Reimi nor I missed that Fidel and Mitra had been cuddling. "It seems that you two had gotten comfortable with each other." Fidel said.

"Speak for yourself. I shocked the king let you get that close." Reimi said.

"I proved myself capable, so the king put me in charge of keeping watch over Mitra." Fidel said.

"Just be ready for the inevitable." I said.

Fidel didn't answer, he just nodded his head. "So what's the plan?" Reimi asked.

"After we restock, the four of us are heading into the Unknown Region of Space." I said.

"Why there?" Fidel asked.

"Who's going to look for us there?" Reimi asked.

"The Jedi have fallen, and only a matter of time before Darth Cauis finds them. I don't plan to be around when that happens." I said.

"Actually in the old texts there were only Force users. Those who were out of balance were sent away to find themselves, and to find balance. This whole Sith and Jedi factions was never intend to run on as long as it did." Reimi said.

"What?" Fidel asked.

"You didn't know that?" I asked.

"That doesn't make any sense." Fidel said.

"True. There are powers that are twist the user and deteriorate their body, but that doesn't the power evil, or bad. It just depends on the user." I said.

"I won't use choke, lightning, or powers of the sorts!" Fidel said flatly.

"And we won't make you." Reimi said.

The three of us grow silent as Fidel digest this new piece of information. Mitra was entering the library as her father said. "By now Ashono has already said that you are going to be leaving." he said.

"And why would you give your blessing to such a ludicrous plan?" she asked.

"Two reason. First: the sith are coming and I won't let them use you as leverage to get me to cooperate with their demands." he said.

"They'll kill you if I leave." she said.

"They'll kill me if you stay, and possibly you. Not only that, you staying might draw Fidel back, and we can't have that." he said.

"So what if Fidel gets drawn back?" she asked.

"Do you think me blind? I know that you're in love with Fidel, and he is in love with you. Why do you think I left him, and only him, to be your bodyguard?" he asked.

"What's the second thing?" she asked changing the subject.

"Years ago it was decided that if the heir to the throne was a girl, that the monarchy would be dissolved, and we would become a republic." he said.

"Just like that, the family line has been done away with?" Mitra asked.

"Mitra! Our analyst have projected that the sith fleet will be here within the week. They won't spare anyone, the royal line will be wiped out! Not only that, my time has come." the king said.

"Wait? What!" Mitra said.

"I'm dying, Mitra. I was diagnosed three months ago with a terminal disease that will kill me before the year is out." the king said.

"So, what am I supposed to do? Run away?" Mitra asked on the verge of tears.

"My wish for was to live a life that was unburden by the shackles that made me a slave." the king said.

Mitra didn't say anything. She bowed to her father, and exited the library. She made preparations for our departure by days end. Mitra had only walked two hallways away before she had ran into the three of us. "What's the plan?" Reimi asked.

"We leave by days end." Mitra said.

"Just like that?" Fidel asked.

"I don't have a choice, and I want to be gone before the sith fleet arrive." Mitra said.

I can sense that the Mitra was hiding something else, and then I realized why the king didn't hesitate to send Mitra away so readily. _He's dying._ I think. "Let's make it quick." I said

The four of set about to get the supplies necessary for the journey, and refuel our ship. By night fall, all our preparations had been made and then ship had been refueled. We ate one last meal, and then head out. As we were exiting, the king and a detachment of guards had walk us out to the landing pad. Mitra said good bye to her father, followed by Fidel, Reimi, and I said the final good bye.

"Remember your promise." the king said, handing me a piece of paper.

"I shall." I said, and then boarded the ship. I head to the cockpit, and got the ship moving. I took us off world, and then entered the coordinates on the paper. It took a few minutes before the hyper drive computed the coordinates. I looked at the coordinates that were given to me, and checked them against the space map. We were going into the Unknown Regions, but the planet was much deeper than any planet that I know of, or that has been explored. I entered two false trails in case the sith are able to pick up our trail, and then the ship jumps out of the system.

B.b.B.

Chimera-

The Chimera was in orbit around the planet Coruscant, as the rest of the fleet was prepping to make the jump to light speed. On the bridge, Cortana was walking up behind Cauis.

"Do you have a lead on Ashono and his friends?" he asked.

"They went to Onderon, but they will no doubt be gone by the time we get there." she said.

"That's okay, I want to visit Onderon anyways. I want an audience with the king, anyways." he said.

"Lord Cauis." Fayt said approaching his master.

"Fayt, what the status on the fleet?" Cauis asked.

"The fleet has finished preparations to jump to hyperspace. Also my lord, a message was received from man named Oryx." Fayt said holding out the message for Cauis. Fayt watched as both Cortana and Cauis flinch ever so slightly. Cauis took the message from Fayt and dismissed him. Fayt was about to leave the bridge, when Cauis stopped him. "Fayt. I need you to run an errand for me."

"When do I leave?" Fayt asked, the hunger to prove his worth to his master was radiating off of him.

"You leave after we make the jump to hyperspace." Cortana said.

"Yes, my master." Fayt said.

B.b.B.

Beyond the known universe-

In another universe, there was a group of ships overseeing the routine maintenance of the installation. The station had been finished years ago, and was adding Darth Cauis in his takeover of the galaxy, but the man who was running the show, Oryx was growing tired of Cauis progress. Behind Oryx, a video screen went active, and on the screen was Darth Cauis.

" _Yes, my lord._ " Cauis said.

"What is taking so long?" Oryx asked.

" _The Jedi have fallen, and we are moving to eliminate the remnants of the council._ " Cauis said.

"How is your new servant working out?" Oryx asked.

" _Fayt shows promise. Then again, all the people who join us always show promise, at first._ " Cauis said.

"What is the word on the boy Ashono Katarn?" Oryx asked.

" _Ashono and his friend went Onderon. From there we have no idea where he will go._ " Cauis said.

"And the matter involving Korriban?" Oryx asked.

" _I sent Fayt. As a test of his loyalty, and his mettle._ " Cauis said.

"Good, good. That's a good test for the boy. You are dismissed." Oryx said.

The video screen shutdown, and Oryx continued watching the crew finish the repairs to the station.

B.b.B.

Planet Zero deep in the Unknown Regions-

Our ship was dropping out of hyper space at a planet that the King dubbed Planet Zero. I had made a stop prior to jumping to this planet. I know a few people on the planet Tatooine that change the transponder code on our ship. Now that our trail has been cover, that is until the sith finds that junker on Tatooine, we made our last jump. I take a look at Planet Zero, something about it seems familiar, but I take us planet side so we can stretch our legs. As we were entering the atmosphere Reimi, Fidel and Mitra were entering the cockpit.

"What's this place?" Fidel asked.

"Planet Zero." Mitra said.

"And you know this because?" Reimi asked.

"My father brought me here when I was a young girl. Something about this planet feels alive. I can feel it in my body." Mitra said.

"Why did your father send you away?" Reimi asked.

"The sith fleet was supposed to be there in a matter of days. Not only that my father is dying, and he didn't want me to live as a royal slave." Mitra said.

I was about to say something else, but I stop before I spoke. I turned and looked at Mitra, staring at her for a moment.

"What?" Mitra asked.

"What is it?" Reimi asked.

Fidel knew that look in my eyes. "There's more that you aren't telling us." Fidel said.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Mitra said.

"That may be true, but how about this." I said, and then lift some random object in front of Mitra. Mitra stared at me in shocked surprise, wondering how I figured it out. "Your father sent you away for another reason, too." I said.

"How did you know?" Mitra asked.

"Lucky guess, now you know what I'm asking. Do what you can." I said.

I didn't see Mitra attempt to pull the object out of my hand using the Force. I felt a strong pull of the Force coming from the planet. Fidel was blown away that his girlfriend was force sensitive, but that was side-lined momentarily. All of us could feel the dark side of the Force emanating from the planet, but I don't sense anything besides the local fauna that might try to eat us.

"The dark side of the Force is strong here, oppressive." Mitra said.

"I think there was a lot of hatred that had been expressed here in the past, so the strength of those emotions is emanating through planet, giving a foothold to the dark side." Fidel said.

"Very good, Fidel." I said, as I fly our ship planet side.

"I can understand why your father sent you away with us, but why wouldn't your parents send you to the academy?" Reimi said.

"I was being trained privately. My parents didn't want me associating with the Jedi." Mitra said.

"Even though your force sensitive?" Fidel asked curiously.

"Being force sensitive, and being a jedi are two different things. Not to mention I think we already discussed this." I said keeping an eye on the console.

"You already discussed what?" Mitra asked.

"However many years ago, there were only Force users; the factions Jedi or Sith didn't exist." Fidel said.

"What about the powers that of that are dark in nature?" Mitra asked.

"True, but it all depends on the intent of the user." Fidel said, although I can hear the skepticism in his voice.

When we broke through the planet's atmosphere, I can see a giant bog, but towards the southern end of the plant there is a huge jungle surrounded by a big moat. _You think we should touch down in the forest?_ Reimi asked. _Possibly._ I think.

 _Sorry I hid my Force sensitivity from you._ Mitra said to Fidel through the Force. _I'm not upset at all. I'm actually excited that you're able to wield the Force, even if it ever so slightly._ Fidel said.

"I think the forest would be our better option because we could also be killed if we get into a fight in the bog." Fidel said.

"There's a mountain in the forested area. See if there's a cave." Mitra said.

"I like the way you think, Mitra." I said.

I circle the mountain to find a place to park our ship.

B.b.B.

Korriban-

Fayt landed on Korriban at the old Imperial outpost that hasn't been in use for a few centuries, or longer. Fayt exited his ship, and made his way to the old Sith academy. Fayt was becoming scared of the overwhelming power of the dark side of the Force that is emanating from the academy. As Fayt was approaching the main entrance, the doors began to open of their own accord. Fayt was really starting to regret his decision, but it was too late. The Force had manifested itself in a way that it was able to grab Fayt around the throat, and pulled him into the academy, shutting the doors.


	12. Chapter 12

When Fayt felt solid ground again he was landing face first in the dirt and the dust. When he looked up Fayt saw that he was two inches from hitting the wall. As Fayt was getting to his feet, he felt the entity throw him like a rag doll across the atrium, almost hitting the other wall. When Fayt hit the floor this time he felt the Force invade his body, as if torturing him. Fayt had been beaten and torture by Darth Cauis before coming here.

"You think that just because your master had beaten before coming here that you are prepared for what is to coming?" the entity said to Fayt. If Fayt wasn't afraid before, he is now. "Good. Let the fear flow through you. Allow it to strengthen your resolve because I'm going to test you before our time is done."

The entity threw Fayt into the wall face first, knocking him out and breaking his nose. The entity used the Force to staunch the blood flow, but it left Fayt's nose a broken mess.

B.b.B.

Planet Zero, Three weeks later-

We had landed on Planet Zero three weeks ago, and already we are making strides to blend in with the planet. We used the Force sparingly, and the skills I learn from time I spent on that planet ten years ago are returning to me. Reimi and I hunted, while Fidel and Mitra gather berries and roots. Before long we had enough stores to last us weeks before we had to forge again. Over time, being days, weeks, or months we never feared about running out of food stores. Whenever there was a surplus of animals, we would cull the herd and assist the plants in growing. And if the was getting to a certain point we would fight off their natural predators to help to herd grow in numbers.

This went on for about three months, but I knew it couldn't last forever. One day I would see a bounty hunter ship in the sky. Whoever did the work on our ship last, talked.

B.b.B.

Onderon, days after we left-

The king watch from his war room as the sith fleet was orbiting the planet. He knew that this wasn't going to end well, but he saw this day was coming. The king opened a link to the Darth Cauis command ship.

" _Ah, the kind himself has opened a direct line to me. Come to grovel for your life?"_ Cauis asked.

"Not that it would do any good." the king said.

" _It wouldn't._ " Cauis said.

"What would it take for you to land without attacking my city?" the king asked.

Darth Cauis conferred with one of his people, and then came back. " _I see that you turbo lasers are deactivated. Now why would you do that?_ " Cauis asked.

"What do you think?" the king asked.

" _You want to spare as many lives as possible. Or as long as you're still ruler of this city._ " Cauis said.

"Then I expect you to live up to the reputation that sith are known for having." the king said.

" _I wouldn't want to disappoint you._ " Darth Cauis said, and then shut down the video screen.

The king and his servants prep for the coming changes by backing up and deleting files, sending away the necessary personnel so Cauis won't have access to necessary systems. Once all the preparations had been made, the king order this command center shut down and the door sealed shut.

"How will we get this door opened again?" asked an attendant.

"It can only be opened by the blood of the royal family." the king said.

"But you sent the princess away." The attendant said.

"She will return. Ashono gave me his word. Now go." the king said.

The king went to the throne room, and await for Darth Cauis to come to him. He would not bend to this tyrant. If he wants to kill the king, Cauis is going to come to him. The invasion of Onderon was carried out without a single life being lost. Darth Cauis stepped off his landing skiff and saw that there wasn't even a royal envoy waiting for him.

"Wow. This king has some guts, I'll give him that." Cauis said.

"The king is probably waiting in the throne room." Cortana said.

"Well let's not keep the man waiting." Cauis said.

Cauis, Cortana, and a contingent of sith troopers marched through the city towards the royal palace.

B.b.B.

Korriban-

Fayt was beginning to regain his consciousness when he felt his body being lift off the floor. Fayt let out a scream when he felt his bones being broken one at a time. Although the pain was great, the Force being gain to heal him and repair his bones. The entity began to torture Fayt's body, inflicting all kinds of physical pain possible. But with each new wound that was inflicted, Fayt drew upon the Force to repair himself. As a matter of fact, the entity stuck a blow that would have killed a normal sith, but with the Force flowing through him Fayt had survived.

Fayt's will power had grown greatly since he had first been dragged into the academy, but part of his mind had become damaged. He had to draw on the Force to repair the damage, but it wouldn't be enough. Fayt had lost the ability to see, but the Force had augmented his vision so he could see. The entity slammed him into the floor, but Fayt had found his way to a kneeling position.

"What is your name boy?" the entity asked.

"Watch who you are call a boy, wraith. You may have killed the boy, but the man has enough Force control to put you back in the ground. My name is Darth Jaran." he said.

"Rise, Darth Jaran, and return to your master." the entity said.

"At once." Jaran said, and then stood to his feet and exited the academy.

B.b.B.

Onderon-

Just as Darth Cauis was about to enter the throne room he felt someone calling out to him in the Force.

 _Master Cauis, where are you?_ the person asked.

 _Fayt, is that you?_ Cauis asked. _Fayt Sheerk is dead, Darth Jaran has taken his place._ Jaran said. _We are on Onderon. Meet us there, and I will have you first assignment ready when you arrive._ Cauis said, and then entered the throne room.

"Ah, the royal hall! What a pleasure it is to finally meet you." Cauis said to the king.

"No matter what you think, your new puppet will not hold his own against Ashono and his group." the king said.

"You sorely underestimate my new _puppet_." Cauis said.

"Your new puppet may have been forged in the fires of Korriban, but Ashono is far greater…" the king had stopped in midsentence. He had reached out with the Force and touch Darth Cauis in the force.

"He's a jedi!" one of the sith troopers shrieked when the saw Darth Cauis flinch.

"Don't move." Cauis ordered. "The king has minimal control over the Force, and can do us no harm."

The king realized why Darth Cauis felt familiar. "Your new puppet will be no match for Ashono. I'm willing to bet your current apprentice would be no match for Ashono." the king said.

"Oh, yeah. Why is that?" Cauis asked.

"Ashono's level of control of the Force closely rivals your own." the king said.

"Where's your daughter?" Cauis asked.

"What do you think?" the king asked.

"I think she's hiding somewhere in the castle." Cauis said.

"Are you sure about that?" the king asked.

"Are you really that stupid to hide her in the city? You know I will cause a lot of destruction to get what I want." Cauis said.

"I know, but do you really think I would be dumb enough to leave her where you can cause us harm?" the king asked.

"A fair point." Cauis said.

Darth Cauis stopped and thought for a moment. He walked over to the king, and tried to extract the information from him. The king put up a fight, one that Cauis was expecting. Cauis stopped for the time being, and switched gears. He saw one of the king's attendants, and tried to extract the information. The attendants mind was weaker and he was able to extract the information.

"Planet Zero." the attendant said.

"Planet Zero. Where's Planet Zero?" Cauis asked.

"Only I know the location." the king said.

"This going to be fun." Cauis said.

"Orders, sir?" General Ordona asked.

"Set up the garrison, and regular patrols. The planet is under our control." Cauis said to Ordona. "Everyone leave the room."

The king nodded to his people, and everybody exited the room except the king, Darth Cauis and Darth Cortana. "Do whatever you want, I won't talk." the king said.

"I'm not going to do anything to you. When my _new puppet_ , as you so eloquently put it, arrives he will attend to extracting the information out of you. And believe, he won't be nice about." Darth Cauis said, and then exited the royal hall.

The king knew that he was going to die. Either during interrogation, or after. Darth Cortana and the king shared a look, and then she left.

"Lord Cauis." Darth Cortana said upon exiting the royal hall.

"Yes, Cortana." Cauis said.

"Are you sure you want to let Jaran have a crack at the king?" Cortana asked.

"The king is dying. He sent his daughter away for her own safety. Not his." he said.

"I might be able to find records of Planet Zero in the archives." she said.

Cauis waved his approval of the search, and Cortana took her leave. Cauis believed that the king was telling the truth about him being the only person to know the location of Planet Zero, so he sent Cortana away so he could think in silence.

A few days later Darth Jaran arrived at the royal palace on Onderon. The attendants scurried out of Jaran's way when they saw that he lost the use of his eyes, and the extent of his disfigurement.

"Darth Jaran. What a pleasure it is for you to join us." Darth Cauis said.

"How may I serve you, Lord Cauis?" Jaran said.

"I want you to use you new found abilities to extract pertinent information out of the king." Caius said.

"What happened to your eyes?" Cortana asked.

"The dark entity had damaged the occipital lobe of my brain, but with the Force I can still see." Jaran said.

"It seems that the entity did more than damage your mind." Cauis said.

"The physical damage to my body will enforce the fear that I will inspire into the masses." Jaran said. "Which way to the king?"

"Follow me." Darth Cauis said.

The three Darth's walked to the throne room. Jaran was looking forward to using his new abilities on a living being, whereas, Cauis and Cortana wanted to see their new ally in action. Upon entering the throne room the king was radiating fear and resignation. He knew that he would die by the sith, he was not expecting to be done by one of their torturers.

"Any last request?" Darth Cauis asked.

"Get on with it already." the king said.

"As you wish. Jaran." Cauis said nodding to Darth Jaran.

"Give my regards to Ashono when you see him." the king said.

"I will." Cauis said, and then both Cortana and Cauis stepped away from the throne so Jaran could work without distractions. Jaran didn't even touch the king at first, he just reach out with the Force and invaded his mind. All throughout the castle all that could be heard was the king's screams. Jaran spent a couple of days torturing the king, but he put up a fight nonetheless. One week after arriving, Jaran had broken the king's and got the necessary information. After he was satisfied, Darth Jaran killed the king.

"Did you get the location?" Cauis asked.

"Yes." Jaran said. "It's the Dhak system."

"Cortana, coordinate with General Ordona and get mercenaries to that system." Cauis said.

"Why mercenaries? Why not send the fleet?" Jaran asked.

"We want Ashono and his friends to come to us. Not only that your old classmates are going to want to catch up with you." Cauis said.

"The boy is dead. The man has risen to take his place." Jaran said.

"Ashono will return here when the time is ready so be ready." Cauis said, and then left.

"You are in charge Darth Jaran." Cortana said.

"Yes, Darth Cortana." Jaran said, as Cortana went to catch up with Darth Cauis.

Cauis went back to his landing skiff to head back to his flag ship. After landing Cauis went to apprise his master of the current state of affairs in the galaxy.


	13. Chapter 13

It took about a month for Darth Cauis and General Ordona to get the mercenaries ready to launch, but they had finally got a group that wasn't put off about going into the Unknown Regions. The first wave of mercenaries put up a good fight, but we had pushed them back time and time again. It wasn't until one day, six months later that I decided to uphold the promise that I made to the king.

B.b.B.

Planet Zero: six months later-

Fidel and I had finished taking down the last group of mercenaries that had been set to capture us.

"They were Mandalorians, weren't they?" Fidel asked.

"They wore the armor, but they could just have easily—they stole the armor." I said when I took one look at the ship that the group came in on.

"Okay. That ship is too modest to be Mandalorian." Fidel said.

The ship was Dynamic-class, light freighter, which is more of a smuggler's vessel than one the Mandalorian would use. Fidel thought the ship looked familiar, and then it hit him. "Wasn't there a famous ship based off of this class?'

"It was the Ebon Hawk, but that was thousands of years ago. This must be a remake of that same class. Probably a limited run, or something like that." I said making my way towards the ship.

"Maybe we could call it the Ebon Hawk again." he suggest.

"Really? The Ebon Hawk, again?" I asked.

"It looks like the Ebon Hawk because it's the same ship as the Ebon Hawk. It's like calling the YT-1300 light freighter the Millennium Falcon because some smuggler made it famous." Mitra said, coming up behind us.

"How about we call something it else?" Reimi asked.

"You guys are no fun." Fidel said.

"It's not about fun, it's about not attracting attention to ourselves." Mitra said.

"Kind of hard to do that." I said.

"Why?" Mitra asked.

"The last guy we talked said that they were told to go to Onderon after they finished here." Fidel said.

"Not that we have much of a choice. Let's stick to the plan. What do we do after we finish at Onderon?" Reimi asked.

"We find Darth Cauis." I said. "We take him down, and we finish this whole mess." I said.

"Ashono." Reimi said to me.

I turn to face Reimi, and she gives me one of her looks. "I'll cross that bridge when I get there." I said.

"Fidel and Mitra deserve to know the truth." Reimi said sternly.

"What's there to tell?" I asked.

"What exactly do we deserve to know?" Mitra asked.

"Ditto." Fidel said.

I stop what I'm doing, and turn to stare angrily and grudgingly at Reimi, but she's right. I regain my cool, and then told Fidel and Mitra the truth.

"Darth Cauis went by another name before he fell to the Dark side and took his current name. That name was Shikora Katarn." I said.

"Okay and?" Mitra said.

"Wait? What? You said Shikora Katarn?" Fidel said.

"Yeah, Shikora Katarn, and I'm Ashono Katarn." I said.

"Oh." Fidel said.

"Wait. Are you telling that you're me related to Darth Caius?" Mitra asked, as we stopped outside the ship. I entered the codes into the keypad that I got from the mercenary.

"If I had to guess Cauis is your father." Fidel said.

"And you would have guess correctly." Reimi said.

"How long have you known?" Both Mitra and Fidel asked.

"Just before Reimi and I came to collect you two, and came here." I said.

"And just like that you going to stop, and or kill your father." Mitra said.

"I'm guessing that's why Theseus brought you to Yavin IV, right?" Fidel asked.

"Yep. That was the point of the whole training, even my mom was in on it." I said. At that moment the hatch opened, and we boarded the ship. Fidel shut the hatch as the rest of us were making our way towards the cockpit. When Fidel entered the cockpit Reimi and I had already had the ship powered on, and flying off world.

"Are you sure it's a wise idea to head back to Onderon? Why don't we head somewhere else first?" Mitra asked.

"We stole a ship from the people that were hired by the man we need to stop. Not only that Darth—" I was going to say that my father was going to expect me to head straight to Onderon. But Mitra was right. We should make one stop before heading to Onderon. I brought up the nav computer and checked for anything of significance out here. It took a few seconds, but something popped. I found an installation out in the middle of nowhere. I study the location of where it has been placed, and wonder if the people who are running it are with Darth Cauis, or those who oppose him.

At that moment our ship received a message, and Reimi put on the speakers. "This is Red leader of the Republic. State your name, and what business you have in the Unknown Region of Space." A woman said.

"We're not your enemy!" Reimi exclaimed.

"We stole this ship from a few mercenaries that to kidnaps about an hour ago." I said.

"Bold." Red leader said.

"There are four force users on board. Darth Cauis made a mistake and sending mercenaries. Where is your base of operations?" I asked.

"Force users, and you're against Darth Cauis. Our base of operations is in the Zhar system. I'll upload the coordinates to our base, and then you can meet the resistance leaders." she said.

There was a beeping a few seconds later. It was the coordinates, and Reimi uploaded them into the nav computer. "See you in a couple days." I said, and then cut the line. The last thing I saw was squad of star fighters jumping to hyperspace.

B.b.B.

Chimera-

Darth Cauis, Darth Cortana, and General Ordona were walking towards the bridge when a coms officer was coming their way. "What is the word?" General Ordona asked the officer.

"We've received confirmation that the latest attempt to get the four jedi has failed." woman said.

General Ordona hesitated before asking. "Were you able to figure out where they went?"

"No." the woman said.

"I can't find Ashono either," Cortana said.

"Ashono has the uncanny ability to cloak himself in the Force. It seems that he passed it on to his three friends, too." Cauis said. "We'll wait and see what their next move is."

B.b.B.

Zhar system, Gall-

"What's with these people and their obsession with moons of gas giants?" I asked.

"How so?" Mitra asked.

"The Jedi had a temple on the moon of the gas giant Yavin IV. Now the rebels have a base on Gall, which is on another moon of a gas giant." Fidel said.

"These people have to find a place to hide out from the sith forces. Who's going to look for them on a moon of a gas giant?" Reimi asked.

"Cauis found the temple on Yavin IV." Fidel said.

"Cauis was trained at the temple. The black saber that I wield was originally his before taking his red saber." I said.

I transmitted my transponder signal to the tower, and then head to the pad that I was assigned. As I was landing the ship on our pad, I see that we had a welcoming party waiting for us. "It seems that we made an impression." Mitra said.

"Only time will tell." Reimi said.

I didn't say it, but I agree with Reimi. How long until our objectives no longer line up? Then what? Fidel and Mitra will probably go back to Onderon and help rebuild the government, but where does that leave Reimi and myself? Where do we go from here? I felt comfortable on the planet Theseus took me from, and Planet Zero, but something tells me I won't be able to return to either planet after I finish killing my father. That is a subject to ponder at another time because Reimi had secure the mooring clamps and I shut the engine off. There was a group of eight people waiting for us when we stepped off the ship. Four men and women in all.

"So you are the four Jedi that we were told about." A man in white ceremonial outfit said.

"Uhuh." Mitra said.

"What seems to be the problem?" A woman in black robes asked.

"You're a Jedi." Reimi said to the woman in black robes.

"I am as much of a Jedi as you are. My name is Teklalli." she said.

"Were not taking sides, per se." Fidel said.

"What do you mean?" another woman asked.

"We will join you in the fight against Darth Cauis, but we will not be doing so as Jedi." I said.

"Oh. Why not?" the pilot that brought us to here ask.

"Because there is no Sith or Jedi, there is only the Force." Teklalli said.

"That doesn't make any sense." another member of the welcoming committee said.

"The history lesson can be save for later. We have sensitive information that we stumbled upon before your pilot found us." Fidel said.

"Can it wait? You only just arrived, and there is going to be a general council meeting in two hours." the man in white garb said.

"Okay." I said.

We were shown to our rooms, and able to get a shower, but I was called to talk on the bit about there being no Sith or Jedi. "Earlier you said that you wouldn't be fighting as jedi, and you told our pilot, Zenirr Nelniei, that you were only Force users." The man in white robes said.

"The Force is a tool to be wielded be those it deems worth to serve life. There are those who were out of balance of the Force, too much towards the light or towards the dark. They were sent out of the commune to find balance in the Force." I said.

"That doesn't make any sense." another one of general council members said.

"If you don't have a connection to the Force, it won't make any sense." I said.

"That's what I said." Teklalli said.

"You said that you had sensitive information." Zenirr said.

 _The quicker the better_. I think. I found a piece of paper and pen to write with, and wrote the coordinates for that sith base down. "Before Zenirr found us, we stumbled upon one of Darth Cauis base out in the Unknown Regions." I said, handing the paper over to the man in white garb.

"Why don't you stay here as our guest until we can verify this information." he said.

I nod my head, and then I was dismissed.


	14. Chapter 14

A few hours later there was a general assembly to discuss information that was procured. All topics were pertaining to Darth Cauis' troop and fleet numbers, including the location of the base that we secured. Darth Cauis true struggle would be losing the supply base. The skirmish on Onderon would be handled by one of his subordinates. We would not be worth his time. So who would be worth our time is a question I will be looking into when we get out of here. After the standard information had been discussed, the leader of the resistance spoke up.

"We have received some new information from a neutral source about a secret supply base belonging to Darth Cauis. I dispatched a small scouting force to looking into about an hour ago. While we wait to hear back from the scouts let's vote on what we should do if the information pans out." he said.

"Are they really going to vote on it instead of moving on it?" Mitra whispered while the delegation cast their votes.

"That's not our call to make." Reimi said.

"It isn't. How do you figure?" Fidel asked.

"No matter what they decide we're still heading to Onderon after we finish here. After we secure Onderon, then we move on that installation." I said.

"Four of us? Against the whole base?" Mitra asked.

"And." I said.

"Those odds are a little too drastic for us." Reimi agreed.

"Who said that we would be by ourselves?" I asked.

"Oh. How do you plan on getting the Resistance to work with us? Fidel asked.

At that moment our attention was drawn back to the main assembly. "Traveler. What are your plans after leaving here?" the leader asked.

"Our first stop is to head back to Onderon. I made a promise to the king before leaving that I would return and free the planet from sith occupation." I said. "After we finish on Onderon, our next objective that supply base."

"Do you know if Darth Cauis will come after you?" Teklalli asked.

"No. We aren't worth his time." Fidel said.

"When should we move on the supply base?" Zenirr asked.

"Wait for us to send a reply after we finish on Onderon. Don't let on to your knowing about that supply depot." I said.

"Not only that if you move before we get there it will be the end of the resistance. Darth Cauis will outmatch anybody in the resistance, but if Ashono is there Darth Cauis forces will fall." Reimi said.

"Why?" a council member asked.

"Have you seen Darth Cauis?" I asked.

"Yeah." the same council member answered.

"I'm the one who disfigured him." I said.

"And they have unfinished business." Fidel said.

"Don't we all." Zenirr said.

"That's not what he was getting at." I said.

At that moment there was a beeping, and then a tiny holographic figure appear on the table in front of the head council member. The fours of us couldn't hear the exchange, but if I had to guess that the information has been verified, and it checks out. Which means that the entire time we were sitting listening to them debating whether or not the information was good, we could have made our way to Onderon already.

"Everything checked out. The base is being used to supply Darth Cauis' forces in the field. What is our plan of action?" the leader of the resistance asked.

"We will head to Onderon. When we finish there, we'll come back here, and join your forces when they attack." Reimi said.

"Make it fast, and may the Force be with." Teklalli said.

I nodded at Teklalli, and then the four of us head back to our ship. I'm beginning to wonder how Revan felt piloting the Ebon Hawk, and stopping his old apprentice Malik. For some strange reason something about this mission seems off. Darth Cauis is a threat, but why have a supply depot that deep in the Unknown Regions of Space. I bring up the map, and check out what could possibly be out there that would require a supply depot.

"What's the matter?" Fidel asked.

"A supply depot. Out in the middle of nowhere?" I asked.

"So, what's you point?" Mitra asked.

"Now that you mention it that does seem a bit strange. That seems more like a staging point for going beyond that point, as opposed to coming back into the galaxy." Reimi said.

"There's nothing we can do about it right now. Let's secure Onderon, and then go from there." Fidel said.

"That seems to be our only option." I said.

I piloted the ship off world, and then jumped us to hyperspace. I'm not exactly sure who is going to be waiting for us when we get to Onderon, but I know it's not going to be Darth Cauis. When we land, the person waiting for us was an old classmate of ours.

B.b.B.

Chimera-

Darth Cauis was on the bridge of his flag ship when he felt my presence in the Force. We had been in hyperspace for about an hour, and we were discussing our plans for retaking Onderon. What he didn't know is that we had discovered the location of that supply depot, or that we told the Resistance of its existence.

"Ashono and his group are heading to Onderon as we speak." Cauis said.

"I will inform Jaran of their impending arrival." Cortana said, and left.

"General Ordona, how are the preparations at the supply depot going?" he asked.

"The preparations are going as planned. The next shipment of supplies and slave labor is due to leave within the day." she said.

Cauis, satisfied with the answer, left the bridge. As he was heading to his private quarters he thought on the fact that Jaran was marching to his own death. Cauis knew that Jaran wouldn't be able to stop us from retaking Onderon. The best Jaran could do was slow us down until Cauis can get his forces ready to mobilize.

B.b.B.

Onderon-

We were touching down on Onderon to an emissary, and a person who was massively disfigured. I look at the man again, and I realize why he was familiar. "Wow. Darth Cauis really did a number on him." I said.

"Who?" Reimi asked.

"Wow! He did, didn't he?" Fidel said.

"Shall we go out and say hello then?" Mitra asked.

"Might as well." Reimi said.

I could hear the landing ramp touch the ground before the door opened, but as the door opened I heard a voice ask. "Did you bring what we asked?"

"I don't know Fayt, were we what you were looking for?" I asked when I stepped in to view.

The guards that were with Fayt had raised their weapons preparing to fire, but Mitra and Reimi had disarmed them.

"Fayt is dead. My name is Darth Jaran." Jaran said. Reimi give Fayt a once over and then grimaced.

"Darth Jaran?" Fidel asked, and then started laughing.

"Don't bothering explaining yourself Darth Jaran. Your Master knows that you can't hold your ground against any of us here. So you can do this the easy way, or the hard way." I said.

I nodded for Mitra and Fidel to take their leave, and they went to reinstall the government. I nodded to Reimi, and she relished the fact to take Fayt on. Reimi didn't understand how, or why, Fayt had let his body become that corrupted but nothing was going save Fayt from meeting his demise. Reimi and Jaran had squared for the duel, and just as Jaran swung for the first attack Reimi remembered something I said years ago. That was to draw on the Force for the entire duel. Jaran came at Reimi hard, but she could sense it. She could sense Jaran's fear, and disgust for having to fight her.

Jaran drew on the Force heavily because he knew that he would have to overpower Reimi if he was going to beat her, but every time he made a move Reimi countered it. For every move that Jaran made Reimi had an answer for it. Reimi made a power play that ended with Jaran losing his sword arm. Jaran drew the saber back to him, and was willing to lay down is life if necessary, but Reimi another idea.

"The duel is over Jaran, I have won. You don't have to die to prove your loyalty." Reimi said.

"The jedi are weak. Pathetic. I will never go back to them." Jaran said.

It took me a moment, but I realized what Reimi was trying to do. She was trying to redeem Fayt, but I think Jaran doesn't want to be redeemed. Not that he doesn't think he can be, he just doesn't want to be. Jaran screamed and threw his saber at Reimi, and then shot a storm of lightning from his hands. Reimi destroyed the saber, and using her own saber, turned the attack back on Jaran. The damage was complete, and total. Jaran didn't stop the attack in time causing damage to his nervous, and respiratory system. Even in his weakened and feeble state Jaran still tried to attack, but he had no staying power. Both Reimi and I approached Jaran, who, dropping all pretenses, tried to crawl away from us.

"This is why you were the third best student Fayt. I'd ask if you want me to put you out of you misery, but I can neither see your eyes nor hear you speak. You had a promising future, but you threw it all away when you decide to go work with my father." I said whispered.

I couldn't see much of his face, but somehow there was still enough muscle tone left in his face that I could see shock in Fayt's feature after my admission. Fayt tried to react, but his body gave out and he passed on from this life. I reach out and shut Fayt's eyes. _How much time do you need to get the government up and running?_ I asked Mitra. _A day tops._ Mitra said back. _After everything is up and running again send some of the fleet to the supply depot._ I said. _You got it._ Fidel said.

Reimi and I got back on our ship, and head back to the Resistance headquarters. Fidel and Mitra stayed in the palace overnight. They had already consummated their relationship before heading into the Unknown Regions, but Mitra did conceived a child. Come morning they continued rebuilding the command structure. Mitra kept her father's wishes and disbanded the monarchy, in doing so she had to call together the councilors for an emergency meeting.

"What is the meaning of this meeting?" the head councilor asked.

"Many you of have been apprised of the situation, the dissolution of the royal family. That is the reason for the meeting. I am going to oversee the transfer of power to a new council, and from there we will choose a member to serve as representative to the Republic." Mitra said.

"So what are we doing?" another councilor asked.

"You're going to formally form a council. People are going to suggest candidates, and you're going to vote on who will have a seat." Fidel said.

"How many seats will there be?" another councilor asked.

"Talk amongst yourselves. Fidel and I are not going to take a seat on the council." Mitra said.

"We will have seven members." Another council said.

"Okay. Now start naming names, and putting it to vote." Fidel said.

Seven members were named, and each had taken the seat without dispute. "Now who will serve as representative in the senate?" Mitra asked.

"We were hoping you would?" one of the new councilors said.

Mitra looked at Fidel, and he nodded. "Alright. I will take the post as representative to the Republic." Mitra said. "I need to mobilize the fleet because the Resistance is about to move on a secret depot that Darth Cauis set up in the Unknown Regions of Space."

"The fleet will be ready to move within the hour." the head councilor said.

Fidel and Mitra left the council chamber, making their way out to the dock. "When do you think we should get married?" Fidel asked.

"After we take down Cauis. Nobody except us, Reimi and Ashono." Mitra said.

"Good choice." Fidel said, and then kissed his bride to be.

At the end of the hour mark the fleet was prepped, and ready to leave. Fidel sent a message to me through the Force that they were going to stop at the Resistance base, and then onto the supply depot. I respond back I that I understand, as Mitra opened a line to the whole fleet.

"Attention fleet. This is Representative Mitra Horn, formerly the Princess of Onderon. Our target is a base under the control of Darth Cauis. First we will be meeting up with the Resistance, and then we will travel out to the base." Mitra said. Mitra check her all the stations on the bridge and saw that green lights across the board. "Any questions?" Mitra asks. When she heard nothing but clicking on the line, which signaled that everybody understood, Mitra said. "See you on the other side."

A few moments later, the fleet jumped to lightspeed.


	15. Chapter 15

Reimi was waiting on one side of the docks for the Onderon fleet to arrive, while I was off running around the base. Most of the errands were prepping our ship for the coming encounter. Fidel sent a message that they were just leaving Onderon, and would be there within a days' time. While I was working with the dock mechanics prepping our ship, I got sidetracked trying to retrofit a few panels on the Night Wing, which is the name the docking crew has given to our ship. I don't really care what the ship is called, just as long as it gets us to our next destination in one piece.

I can feel the council coming to the dock, and through the force I can feel that they scouting party that they sent our yesterday was coming back. I can feel Mitra and Fidel coming. They are at the half way point, and are coming with the full fleet. At the moment the council was entering the hanger, and I can hear talking. They have at least two other fleets coming to assist in the battle against Darth Cauis, but they will nominal forces.

 _It seems that the success of the plan hinges on you._ Reimi said.

 _Wasn't that always the plan?_ I asked.

 _A fair point._ _How long until the ship upgrades have finished?_ she asked.

 _I don't know. Securing parts to a ship's hull is not my specialty._ I said.

 _Do you think the jedi will show?_ she asked.

 _Not sure. We could use their help seeing as how we don't know how many force users that Darth Cauis has on his side._ I said.

 _When will you call Cauis your father?_ she asked.

 _When he leaves Darth Cauis behind and becomes Shikora Katarn again._ I said.

"Mind if I join you?" Teklalli asked.

"When we storm Darth Cauis' ship?" I asked, without looking up from my work.

"Yes." Teklalli said.

 _More the merrier._ Reimi said.

"Are Fidel and Mitra going to join you?" Teklalli asked.

"What you opinion on those two?" I asked.

"They're lovers, and shouldn't be taken onto the ship. Not only that Mitra has the ability to help our forces." Teklalli said.

"Oh." I said.

 _Do tell._ Reimi said.

"I sense that she has the innate ability to learn Battle Meditation." Teklalli said.

I continue working for a few moments, taking in Teklalli words. "We will travel with Mitra and Fidel to the supply depot. You have until we drop out of hyperspace to get Mitra in working order with that power." I said.

"Yes," Teklalli said and then walked away.

I can feel the bay doors open two pads away from me, and I can sense Zenirr landing on the pad. Getting the retrofits placed was a lot hard than I figured. I'm a soldier, not a mechanic, but I don't want people messing with my ship.

"Ashono, we are going to have to ask you to leave the ship in our capable hands. The councilors are requesting your presence in the main hall." one of the mechanics said.

I let out a sigh of frustration, and then gave the tools the mechanics. Before I could leave the docking bay I was stopped by Zenirr. "Ashono, wait!"

"Yes, Zenirr." I said.

"What are your plans after the coming battle?" she asked.

"Why?" I asked.

"We use someone of you caliber in the coming years." she said.

"Look, thanks for the tactical appraisal of my abilities, but my place is as far away from polite society as possible." I said.

"You sure about that?" she asked.

"I've spent about nine years of my life in the jungles of some unknown planet in the Unknown Regions. I have no reason to come city planet a like Coruscant, and any other planets of the sort." I said.

"Reimi?" she asked.

"Is going to follow me. Your best bet is to ask Fidel and Mitra. I want nothing to do with politics, and civil wars." I said and then walked away.

Zenirr went to change out of her gear, and get it cleaned and ready for the coming assault. A lot of people were going to die, on both sides of the ideological divide. This is a war that my mom never wanted me involved in. It was the reason she raised me in the Unknown Regions, but when Darth Cauis came to said planet she had no choice but to send me to the academy on Yavin IV and prepare me for the coming fight.

As much as I love my mom, I despise her for forcing me into a war that she fought to stay out of.

 _Even though you despise her, she was still your mother._ Reimi said.

 _Shut up._ I said, and I could feel Reimi laughter through the Force. I could still feel her laughter when I felt Fidel and Mitra's presence entering the system. At that moment I heard my name being called the base P.A. system, wanting me to report to command center. When I entered the command center, Reimi was already waiting. Thirty minutes after I entered, Mitra, Fidel, and some of her subordinates following them followed suit. Mitra and the leader of the resistance were debating a plan of attack. It was when Mitra said that she would storm Cauis ship with me was when I spoke up.

"Mitra." I said.

"Yes, Ashono." Mitra said.

"I'm going to need you to hang back with the rest of the fleet." I said.

"Why?" Mitra asked.

"Teklalli." I said.

"What does she have to do this?" Mitra asked.

"Ashono wants you to hang back because you have the ability to use a special power called Battle Meditation." Teklalli said.

"Meaning?" Mitra asked.

"Meaning that if we keep you out of harm's way there's greater chance of getting out of the coming battle relatively unscathed." Reimi said.

"Want me to come along?" Fidel asked.

Reimi and I shared a look, and then I looked at Teklalli. She shrugged her shoulders. "That's between you and Mitra." I said.

Mitra nodded to Fidel, and then the briefing continued. It took them an hour to agree to the detail of the attack, and then we head to our ships. Fidel, Mitra and Teklalli boarded the same ship, while Reimi and I boarded the Night Wing, and then boarded Mitra's flag ship for the jump to hyperspace. I can sense the ships make the jump as Reimi and I are stepping onto the elevator to take us up to the command deck. In the training room I can sense Teklalli and Mitra practicing. Reimi and I head to the bridge to get an update. When Reimi and I heard that the jump was going to take thirty-six hours, we excused ourselves.

We were given a room on the ship, but I turned it down. Reimi gave me a sideway glance, but kept quiet when I grabbed her hand and exited the command center.

"Seriously? You're not going to accept one of the high class rooms on this ship?" she asked when we stepped onto the elevator.

"I was propositioned by Zenirr to join the government after we take down Cauis. I think force users should not be part of the government. Look what happened to the previous Jedi council" I said.

"Mitra was tapped to be the representative for Onderon. What do you think about that?" she asked.

"I can't make that decision for her, or them." I said. I had a thought, and this was one that I should have asked a long time ago.

"What's the problem?" she asked.

"I just had a funny though. One that I should have been asked when we were still in the services of the Jedi." I said.

"What was Shikora Katarn's mission when he fell to the dark side?" Reimi asked.

I nodded my head, but didn't say anything because the elevator opened to the docking bay of the Night Wing. As we made our way to our ship, we started to bond through the Force. After closing the hatch on the Night Wing we lay down in one of the bedrooms, and make love again. What we didn't expect was that Reimi would conceive a child. The afterglow of our love making sessions was simple, yet effective. We held each other, falling asleep in each other's embrace. We stayed asleep until we reached to the depot, and received a message from Fidel to return to the bridge. As we were getting ready Reimi gently bit my neck, and it sent a shiver down my spine. I pulled Reimi close and sent the Force through her body, gently massaging her. I felt the shiver go down her spine, and then we finished getting dressed.

"It seems that we caught our adversaries off guard." the leader of the resistance fleet said.

"Let's not waste this opportunity." Fidel said.

"Give out the orders." the leader said.

"Teklalli, Reimi, and Fidel on me. Darth Cauis may not be here yet. So when he shows, call it out." I said.

"You got it." Mitra said.

The four of us head down to the Night Wing's docking bay, and the launched with the rest of the fighters. " _Night Wing, you should hang back. Save you shields and ammunition for when the Cauis' fleet shows up._ " Mitra said.

"I'll do what I can to destroy any gun turrets, but when Cauis shows up he will want an audience with me anyways." I said.

" _Very true. Good hunting then._ " Mitra said.

The starfighters hit the base fast, and hard as soon as the fleet dropped out of hyperspace. I found a few gun emplacements and took them out, but I decided to look for the shield generator. I called in to get a location on the generator, and the operator said that it was going to take a while. So I join the fray, and take a few pot shots. It wasn't long before I had coordinates for them, I disengaged from the fight rocketing away to take out the shields. I noticed on the sensors that we picked up a few enemy fighters on the way out.

"I got some fighters on my tail." I said.

"I got it." Fidel said, exiting the cockpit.

It took me a few minutes to get to the generators, but I took them out quickly. When I was flying away I heard something I didn't want to hear.

" _Ashono, bad news._ " Mitra said.

"Is there any other kind?" I asked.

" _There is one more set of generators._ " Mitra said, and then sent me the coordinates.

I tore across the sky to the next shield generator, but by the time I get to them I hear over the coms that the sith fleet has arrived, and the sending out their fighters. As I was taking out the shield, there was a transmission being sent out by none other than Darth Cauis.

" _Ashono Katarn, here are my coordinates. Come and face me._ " Cauis said.

"With pleasure." I said, and then entered the coordinates that he gave me.

"Darth Cauis is on the outskirts of the system." Teklalli said, as she and Fidel entered the cockpit.

"Why is that a surprise?" Reimi asked

"I don't think she was surprised, just stating the obvious." Fidel said.

"Teklalli and Fidel. I need you to stay with the ship." I said.

"What is Reimi going to be doing?" Teklalli asked.

"Cauis has an apprentice." Fidel said.

"I think Cauis has enough decency to challenge you one on one." Teklalli said.

"I'm insurance to make sure he does." Reimi said, patting my handing.

I nod my head to Reimi's gesture as I transmit the codes to open the docking bay on Darth Cauis' ship. While the bay doors are opening I check the sensors for anything that might suggest that Cauis might spring a trap on me, but nothing happens. I dock the Night Wing, and shut the engines down. Reimi and I exit to parade of sith troopers standing at attention. The two of us are extremely suspicious at first, but when they don't fire upon us when we step off the landing ramp we make our way towards the elevator.

" _Don't trust me, Ashono?_ " Darth Cauis barked over the com.

"I'm pretty certain you would have done the same thing before you fell to the dark side." I said in response.

All we heard was the barking laughter of Darth Cauis as the elevate doors shut, and took us up to the command deck.

"How much do you want to bet that the command deck is going to be huge?" Reimi asked.

"I wouldn't put anything past the opulence of the Sith." I said.

"Fair enough." Reimi said, and we fell silent.

Up in Darth Cauis' private quarters, Cortana could sense that the Force was being utilized to augment the outcome of the space battle. "What's that being used?" Cortana asked.

"It seems that the Princess Mitra has learned the Force power of Battle Meditation. Isn't that right, Master Teklalli?" Cauis asked, opening a channel to my ship.

" _That's correct Darth Cauis. But the Force user coming to see you now has a connection to your past._ " Teklalli said, and then closed the channel.

"Connection to your past?" Cortana asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Reimi asked as we stepped off the elevator.

"What's obvious?" Cortana asked.

"Leave it be Reimi." I said.

"If you say so." Reimi said.

"If there are have no further delays, shall we get to it?" Cauis asked.

"We shall." I said, pulling my saber and igniting the one with the black blade.

"That was my saber before I fell. I plan on reclaiming it." Cauis said, and then drew his saber.

I make my way towards Cauis, and then he charged me with his saber in a high position. The force of our crossed blades was enough to shatter the glass in the room.

Back at the base, the Resistance had taken out what was left of the defenses at the base and had taken down the every enemy fighters. Mitra was scanning the battle field before she came out of the battle meditation. On the outskirts of the system she could sense the struggle between Darth Cauis and myself, but it was dead even.

"What's do you see?" one of Mitra's subordinates asked.

"Everything is up to Ashono." Mitra said.

"Why are we putting all our hopes on one by boy?" another subordinate asked.

"Ashono isn't a boy, he's a man. Not only that both Darth Cauis and Ashono have unfinished business to attend to." Mitra said.

"There's a rumor that Darth Cauis was name before he fell was Shikora Katarn." one of the leaders said.

"You were alive when Shikora fell?" Mitra asked.

" _Yeah, wait? Darth Cauis' name before he fell was Shikora Katarn? Are you telling me that Ashono Katarn has to kill his own father_?" Zenirr asked.

"Yes." Mitra said.

Back on the Chimera, Cauis had given up ground not because he was injured, but because he was trying to find an opening in my form. When he didn't find one, Cauis Force pushed me away and then pulled another saber out to even his odds. I pulled out my second saber, and interlocked both of my sabers giving me a double-bladed saber. I could see the shock on his face when he saw weapon become a double-bladed, and I could sense the hatred coming off high in a giant tidal wave.

I could sense Cortana noticed that the battle had ended in the Resistances favor, but before she could react Reimi had shook her head. Cortana remain where she was, but looked out of the bay window. She could see that sith forces had surrendered, and were leaving their posts. Cortana looked back to see both Cauis and myself engaged in another saber lock, but I had the upper hand. With my mind I Force pushed Cauis out of the saber lock. I unlocked my sabers, deactivated the second saber, and hooked it back onto my belt.

Darth Cauis thought I might have be playing a game with him, but he deactivated his second saber, tossing it away. When we crossed blades again, every move that Cauis made I have an answer for it. I can sense Darth Cauis trying to invade my mind, as an attempt to slip me up, but my mind is an impenetrable fortress.

 _What makes you think you can beat me boy!_ Cauis barked through the Force.

 _Nothing. I'm just here to redeem my bloodline_. I said back.

Darth Cauis laughed out loud at my admission. The thought of me trying to set right the actions of my ancestors is laughable to Darth Cauis. "What makes you think you are capable of redeeming your family of the sins they committed?" he asked.

"That's a good question, but a question you should answer." I said.

"Why should I answer that?" he scoffed.

"I don't know, Shikora Katarn, why shouldn't you answer that?" I asked.

The moment I said my father's name, I dodged an attack and then drove my saber through Darth Cauis chest. The wound was fatal, but it didn't kill Cauis outright. Cauis had crumpled to his knees, and I could hear Cauis apprentice screams coming from behind me. I could hear Cauis laughing, but he also coughed up blood.

"It's funny, yet ironic." Cauis said.

"What is?" I asked as I knelt beside him.

"The fact that my own son would try to redeem before I left this mortal coil. The same thing happened to Darth Vader a few millennia ago, saved from his fate by his own son." Shikora said.

"Father, what was your mission before falling to the dark side?" I asked, sensing our time was coming to an end.

"Father? What?" Cortana asked.

"Use your senses, and see for yourself." Reimi said.

Cortana reached out with the Force, and she could see for herself that Cauis and I were related. I could feel her shock at the revelation coming off of Cortana in waves, but I need to know the truth of the matter. "What happened?" I asked.

"Go to these coordinates, and you will see for yourself." Shikora said. "I'm sorry, for your mother."

"You're forgiven." I said, through tears.

I saw my father go limp, and his head fall to his left. I could see the light leave his eyes, and through the Force I could sense that he has left. I reach out and closed my father's eyelids. I stand up and turn to Cortana. "You have a choice Darth Cortana: return to the light, or flee to your new master." I said.

"How can I even be redeemed? Cortana asked.

"Recant your evil ways, and return to the light." Reimi said.

"Or you can choose to do what the original Force users wanted, and choose no side." I said.

"But a side must be chosen." Cortana said.

"True. But you could just be a Force user that choses to bring balance to the Force by remaining neutral, and fighting against injustices wherever they may arise." Reimi said.

I could sense that we had won over Cortana. "Darth Cortana died when Darth Cauis died, so what shall we call you?" Reimi asked.

"Vella Tyuth." she said.

I picked my father up and carried him back to the Night Wing. I seal his body in one of the cabins, and head to the cockpit. We returned to the fleet, and as the news of Darth Cauis fall had reached their ears, there was a thunderous celebration. I was late to the party because I have to say good bye to my father. I joined the celebrations for a while, but I had to leave soon. I had to check out that those coordinates that my father left for me.

During the celebration I approached Vella quietly and asked. "What did you know of my father's mission?"

"All I know is that he answered to a man by the name of Oryx." she said.

"Thanks." I said.


	16. Rumors of War

The morning after the Resistance's victor, both Reimi and I disappeared. Vella stayed behind with Teklalli to help the Resistance rebuild. Mitra and Fidel went back to Onderon to get everything squared away before they depart for Coruscant. Three months into our venture I could sense the new life that was developing in Reimi's belly. Reimi entered the cockpit on the Night Wing to tell me about the child.

"Ashono." Reimi said.

"I know. What do you want to do?" I asked.

"I'll follow you for a time, but I will leave to protect the child." she said.

"Acceptable." I said.

"I'll let you know when to leave me behind." Reimi said.

I grabbed Reimi's hand, kissed it, and then jumped us to hyperspace.

B.b.B.

Mitra and Fidel were making their first journey to Coruscant as senator and bodyguard to apprise the senate of Onderon's wish to become a member of the republic, and to apprise them of Darth Cauis fall. Fidel and Mitra were surprised at the new life that was growing Mitra's belly, but they took it in stride. The pair agreed that the child will be train by themselves, instead of being sent away.

Mitra's ship was dropping out of hyperspace near Coruscant. Fidel was already in the cockpit preparing to take his wife's ship planet side as Mitra was entering the cockpit, adjusting her blouse. Mitra gave Fidel a quick peck on the cheek and took her seat in the copilot's chair.

"You think Reimi and Ashono had right idea to stay out of politics?" Mitra asked.

"The jedi of old became set in their ways, and couldn't see their down fall coming when Darth Sidious took over. And seeing how Ashono lived after my time with the Jedi, I see why he wants to stay away from any, and all things political." Fidel said.

"What was Reimi like?" she asked.

"Reimi's mind had been damaged for a long time because of a training accident, but the jedi left Reimi to her own devices." he said.

"What?" she asked.

"They left Reimi in her damaged state until Ashono came along." Fidel said.

" _This is approach control. Onderon ship, we don't have a schedule landing for you._ " a male voice came over the coms.

"Senate business. I have an envoy from Onderon on board." Fidel said.

" _The senate isn't in session right now._ " he said.

"We aren't here for a senate session. We're here to discuss Onderon joining Senate." Fidel said.

There was a moment of silence that seemed to drag on, but when they heard a response it was a female. " _Onderon ship. Proceed to dock S422._ " she said.

"Dock S422, you got it." Fidel said, and then cut the line.

Mitra entered the coordinates, and then the ship adjusted to land at the designated coordinates. As their ship landed on the pad, there was a senator's aide and a bodyguard waiting for them when they arrived.

"When I heard that an envoy from Onderon was here to discuss their planet's wish to join the Senate, I was a little taken back, but happy at the same time. But imagine my shock that the emissary was none other than the former princess herself. My name is Galek Valorn, and I'm the personal assistant to Chancellor Maleon. The Chancellor is in a meeting at the moment, but he will be with you as soon as the meeting is finished." he said, as Mitra and Fidel were stepping off the ship.

Mitra and Fidel followed Galek and his security detail to Maleon's office, where they waited for the chancellor to return from his meeting.

B.b.B.

"How long until Mitra and Fidel meet with the Chancellor?" Reimi asked.

"Any time, now. Cauis had switch us five years ago." Maleon said.

"Well let's make sure the imposter doesn't try anything stupid." I said, prepping the ship to drop out of hyperspace.

When we returned to normal space it was in just outside Coruscant's gravity well. I piloted the ship planet side quickly because Mitra and Fidel have a head start on us. The chancellor transmitted his code, and directed us to a private landing pad inside the senate building.

"Must be nice being able to dock inside the senate building." Reimi said.

"Perks of being the head of the Republic." He said.

We disembark from the Night Wing, and then made a beeline from the chancellor's office. As we were approaching the office I saw a few assassins lying in wait to strike. Reimi and I made short work of them.

"These people yours?" Reimi asked.

"No. The Chancellors' guards are dressed in blue." Maleon said.

Reimi Force gripped the imposter through the door as one of the big double doors was opening.

"Ashono, what's going on?" Fidel asked.

Galek did a double take when he saw the real chancellor enter the room. "Seize that man." Maleon said.

"When did the switch happen?" Galek asked, as the guards we entering the room to arrest the imposter.

"Cauis switched me out with that man five years ago." he said.

"Why did he switch you two?" Galek asked.

"To influence public policy for the galaxy." Mitra said.

"There was another reason." Maleon said.

"Which is the reason I was sent to rescue you." I said.

"I don't know the whole reason, but here are some coordinates that he left with me." Maleon said, and then produced a data pad.

I took the data pad, and checked the coordinates. I brought up a galaxy map and put the coordinates in. It took a few moments for the computer to translate the data, but when the data had been translated I saw that it had to two points. One was Korriban, and the other one was at a planet in the Unknown Regions.

"What do you plan on doing?" Fidel asked.

"I have to check these two points out, though I don't know which one to hit first." I said.

"I can't go to Korriban with you." Fidel said.

"I can't take Reimi with me." I said.

"Why not?" Fidel asked.

"Take a look at her." I said.

One look, and Fidel understood why. "I guess that makes sense." Fidel said.

"What makes sense?" Maleon asked.

"Reimi is pregnant." I said, still looking at the galaxy map.

"Are the four of you Jedi?" Galek asked.

"We don't identify as Jedi." Mitra said.

"What does that mean?" Galek asked.

"It means that they do not subscribe to either religion. All though I would prefer that our members not have an edge." Maleon said.

"We can head back, and inform the council of you decision." Mitra said.

"Reimi, head back with Mitra." I said.

"You got it." Reimi said.

Mitra and Reimi left, while Fidel and I kept eyeing the map. "What do you think we should do?" Fidel asked

"Korriban seems like the best place to start. That spot in the Unknown Regions could lead us anywhere." I said.

"We could have to make another stop after Korriban." Fidel said.

"Korriban is still a better place to start." I said.

Fidel and I excused ourselves, and then make our way to the docks.

B.b.B.

Mitra and Reimi were already on their journey back to Onderon. The coordinates entered into the nav. computer, and the ship had already jumped to hyperspace.

"So what do you think our husbands are going to get themselves into?" Mitra asked.

"Knowing Ashono, there is going to be trouble waiting for them, at least on Korriban. That planet in the Unknown Regions is still up in the air, though." Reimi said.

"You think we should inform the council of this turn of events?" Mitra asked.

"Them, and the resistance. We have no idea what Shikora was doing, or who this Oryx person is." Reimi said.

"That is the second order of business after we finish on Onderon. Prepare for the coming of Oryx." Mitra said.

B.b.B.

Fidel and I had to make one stop before heading out. There was an information broker on Coruscant that could enlighten us on a few things. And it wasn't lost on me that this broker ran a pawn shop, and it was in the seediest part of the city.

"The cliché isn't lost on me," said Fidel.

"Uhuh." I said, and then opened the door.

The owner came to the counter when he heard the bell tinkle when we entered.

"Ah, welcome to my business. What can I do you for?" the man asked.

"We need some information." Fidel said.

"My information doesn't come cheap." he said.

"We'll get the information we need." I said, and then placed the bag on the table.

The man opened the bag, and saw that it was loaded with spare parts and a large sum of cash. The man took one look at the parts and pushed them to the side, and then he counted the cash. When he was satisfied, he looked up at the both of us and asked. "What do you need to know?"

"What do you know of Shikora Katarn's mission before he became Darth Cauis?" Fidel asked.

"Shikora was tasked by the council to head into the Unknown Regions and investigate rumors of a sith army that was amassing for a massive invasion." he said.

It was a few moments before any of us spoke. "That's it? No other information?" I asked.

"That's it. If you excuse me I need to catalog these parts for my inventory." he said.

I reach out and take ahold of the man's body through the Force, turning him to face us. "Before you ask, we are not jedi, but we have Force powers. We were informed you knew of Shikora's actions, and everything he was doing before he fell. We were also instructed to threaten if you didn't comply." I said.

"What are you going to do? Kill me? That would make you no better than Darth Cauis." he said.

"Kill you? No, we'll just leak information to the resistance that you had done business with Darth Cauis on the side, and let them sort it out." Fidel said.

The threat worked like a charm. We could see the blood drain from his face. "I'm guessing the threat of us killing you outright sounds better, but it would behoove us to leave you alive and let real justice be done. So your choice. Tell us what we want to know, or take your chances with the resistance." I said.

It took a few moments for the man to come to his senses. "Oryx was once a jedi. He fell when he became disillusion by the jedi order. Oryx had be seduced by the dark side before he even knew what hit him. The jedi council exiled him, and from there he went to Korriban. Rumor was that he encounter a sith wraith in the ruins of the old academy, who taught him the ways of the sith. Oryx has been building an army, but he first had to get the necessary supplies to build his fleet." He said.

"How long has Oryx been preparing for this invasion?" Fidel asked.

"About twenty years." he said.

"That's a long time to prep." Fidel said to me.

"Oryx has been planning this since before we were born. Do you know anything else?" I asked.

"All I know is that Shikora was tasked on learning the whereabouts and the plans Oryx had, and then he follow Oryx's path to find him." The man said.

I let go of the owner, and then the two of us left. We went back to the Night Wing before we discussed the information we had just gotten. As we were approaching the landing ramp of the Night Wing, I began the takeoff sequence, but Fidel stopped me short.

"So what's the play here? We know that Oryx has been building his army for as long as we have been alive." Fidel said.

"We're going to have to inform the jedi, and the resistance. We don't have a choice." I said.

"Why don't we go check out what's on Korriban first. Make sure Oryx doesn't have an surprises waiting for us." He said.

"That won't matter." I said.

I scanned the shipped for anything out of the ordinary. In case Darth Cauis, or Oryx for that matter, had a backup plan. "You think that someone might have bugged the Night Wing while we were out. Why?" he asked.

"We're going to have to inform the resistance, and the jedi council of the turn of events. I want to make sure that we won't be followed." I said.

I wasn't wrong about being followed because at that moment a fire fight broke out. We scurried up the landing, shutting it behind us, and then ran to the cockpit.

The overhead door has been jammed, but the front bay door is still operational." Fidel said, jumping in the copilot and strapped himself in.

"Open it!" I said.

I retract the ship's landing gear as the bay doors were opening. As soon as the doors were fully open, I punched the throttle and took us off world.

B.b.B.

Mitra and Reimi were landing at the royal palace, or what used to be the royal palace, on Onderon. There were a few councilors and their bodyguards waiting for as them as they were preparing to land.

"What did the chancellor have to say?" the head councilor said.

"They were glad that Onderon wanted to join the galactic senate, but they wanted a senator who wasn't empowered by the Force." Mitra said.

"We wanted you to be our envoy to let the senate know our intent to join them. After you left, the council met again to find a new senator because some foresaw the chancellor asking for a person who is a non-force user, and, I'm sorry to say this, some of the councilors didn't want former members of the royal family serving as our representative." she said.

"No problems here." Mitra said.

"If you want, we can escort the new senator to Coruscant." Reimi offered.

"That would be greatly appreciated. They will be leaving within the week." she said.

Reimi and Mitra were escorted to their quarters until the senator was ready to leave for Coruscant.

B.b.B.

Tython-

Fidel and I had been circling the planet for a couple of hours before we received a transmission.

" _Unidentified ship, state your name and business that has brought you to this lost planet?_ " the familiar voice of Master Kallini said.

"Hello Master Kallini. It's Ashono Katarn and Fidel Ors. We come to discuss the next big war coming to the galaxy, and how the Jedi will be involved." I said

There was a moment of silence that stretched on for quite a while, but then we heard a different voice come over the com. " _You are cleared to land at dock 1._ "

I was given the coordinates, and then veered the ship in the direction of my designated pad.


	17. Chapter 17

Mitra and Reimi had escorted the Onderon senator to Coruscant. Now they were going to meet Zenirr Nelniei to tell her about the coming war with Oryx. The meeting was on Chandrila, and they had a brief window of opportunity to get there. Mitra and Reimi were the first to show up at the cantina where Zenirr said she would meet them. And unlike most cantina's, this place was spotless. Which had set the two women off, but they didn't get a chance to understand this because they were approached by Teklalli and Vella.

"Follow us, and remain silent." Teklalli said.

Teklalli lead the way, while Vella brought up the rear. The four women made their way through the back alleys until they reach a turbo lift. They all stepped on to the lift, and it shot downwards after the doors shut.

"Do you want to tell us what's going on, and why you're here instead of Zenirr?" Reimi asked.

"One of the resistance spies had found out that you were being tailed. No one knows how the device was placed on your ship, but we couldn't take the chance of the sith remnant following us back to our base." Teklalli said.

"There is no sith remnant." Mitra said.

"But Ashono defeated Darth Cauis." Vella said.

"Darth Cauis was a herald of things to come. We learn that there is another army that is being constructed in the Unknown Regions. And it is bigger the force than what Darth Cauis commanded." Reimi said.

This trouble both Teklalli and Vella. Teklalli pulled out a communicator, and said one phrase. "Clear to engage," and put it away.

"What's wrong?" Mitra asked.

"We were able to trace the signal to a couple of bounty hunters who were contracted by a man named Oryx." Vella said.

"That's the guy in charge of the invasion force!" Reimi said.

The four women stepped off the lift, and then boarded the ship that was docked on the pad. Teklalli piloted the ship off world, where they linked up with Zenirr and her squad, and then jumped to hyperspace.

B.b.B.

Tython-

Although Fidel and I were guests on Tython, I could sense the tension were running high. But I could care less. The Jedi are so self-righteous about their place in the galaxy, and they rarely took responsibility for their actions, too. I'm not say they're all worse thing that has ever happened to the galaxy, but they aren't exactly the best either. Then again, they are the only ones capable of hold back the darkness that will come if the sith were to rule unchecked. So they have their uses.

"What is it you want to discuss with us?" Master Kallini asked.

"Does the fallen jedi by the name of Oryx mean anything to you?" I asked.

"Where did you hear that name?" Kallini gasped.

"We were on Coruscant, and…" I begin but I was cut off by Master Jyn.

"Do you expect us to believe that?" Jyn snapped.

"Oryx is a former jedi, who fell twenty years. From there he found his way to Korriban. After Korriban, nobody knows where he went. My father was sent to find Oryx, and in the process lost his way. My mother and Theseus sent me the jedi to finish off my father, and then to finish his work." I said

There was a moment of silence as Kallini and Jyn discussed this. Fidel and I walked over to the balcony, and discussed our next step. "What is our next move?" he asked.

"Our next step is to check out Korriban." I said.

"After Korriban that point in the Unknown Regions. What happens if we do something that has never been done before?" he asked.

"Nothing has never been done before. Someone, somewhere in history has done it before." I said.

"So you're not afraid of what may come next?" he asked.

"If I die on this journey so be it. Death is a journey that we all must take some day." I said.

"Fair enough." Fidel said.

"What are your plans after leaving here?" Master Kallini asked.

"My father left me two sets of coordinates to rundown. One is on Korriban, and the other is in the Unknown Region." I said.

"My scouts have been keeping tabs on Oryx. He has a base beyond the known galaxy. The planets name has been lost to time, but it was a stage place for an assault on a space station that was called the Star Forge." a new member of the jedi council said, joining the conversation.

"We have to make a stop at Korriban to get the coordinates—" I began was cut off by the new comer.

"My scouts already checked it out. It's a trap, meant to keep people from getting to the base. These are the coordinates you seek. Take my scouts with you. They will be able to help you come up with plan for attacking on the base." she said handing me a data pad, and then left.

"We will meet up with the resistance, and be ready for Oryx's eventual return." Kallini said.

Kallini and Jyn left us standing on the balcony. Fidel and I head back to the hanger bay, and tried to come up with a plan to assault the base. When we got back to the Night Wing, there were about ten scouts waiting for us.

"Have you been briefed on the coming mission?" I asked who I thought to be the leader.

"Yes we have, and we have come up with various plans of attack." she said.

"Come aboard then. Let's get the job done, and go home." Fidel said.

The twelve of us boarded the Night Wing, and head off world.

B.b.B.

Resistance base, Valc system-

The ships landed at the resistance base on Valc VII, and a parade of council members were waiting for Mitra and Reimi as they were stepping onto the pad. Mitra made light of the fact that she didn't like the big crowd waiting for them. One of her relatives was public assassinated in front of a big crowd, to which Reimi assured her that it would never happen.

"Mitra. Reimi. What news do you bring us?" the head councilor asked.

"We bring word that there is going to be an invasion coming soon. It will be coming from the Unknown Regions, and it's going to be bigger than the force that Darth Cauis commanded." Reimi replied.

"Do we have a time line?" another councilor asked.

"No." Mitra said.

"Should we get in touch with the Jedi?" Zenirr asked?

"We aren't going to go." Mitra said.

"Why?" Zenirr asked.

"The jedi don't believe in physical relationships." Vela said.

It took a moment for the council to figure the meaning, but Teklalli spoke plainly. "The jedi are celibate, and would have a field day if two force users walked into their temple pregnant."

"I'm pretty certain one of you two, or both, could go meet with the jedi." Zenirr said.

"You want to tag along?" Teklalli asked Vella.

"What are they going to do to me?" Vella asked.

"Don't give them any wiggle room." Mitra warned.

"You got it." Teklalli said.

Teklalli and Vella walked right back onto the ship, and then took off. Reimi and Mitra were guests of the resistance for the time being.

B.b.B.

Somewhere in hyperspace-

"So what's the plan when we touch down?" Fidel asked the scouts.

"We need to disable the base," the lead scout said.

"Not disable. Destroy." I said.

"If you merely disable it, anybody who finds the trail can restart the base and cause problems. Be it the next sith army, or the resistance." Fidel said.

The scouts remained silent, probably because they didn't think about anybody using it. They're orders before must have been to disable the base at first, but we can't take the chance of anyone finding it. The base has been under sith control for twenty years, it has become the present day equivalent of the star forge. No one can control the base without losing their way.

"So how do you want to play it?" another scout asked.

"Do we have a technical read out of the base? Shields, troop numbers, weaponry?" I asked.

"No, but we received word that they we moving a lot of gear on to ships, and then preparing to move it off world." the lead scout said.

"They have a dry dock in space to build the cruisers." Fidel said.

"Do we know if the dry dock shares power with the base, or is it on its own supply?" I asked.

"Last we knew they had abandoned making a separate power supply for the dry dock. It kept short circuiting, and delaying production" said another scout.

"Let's hope that is true, or our plan is going to take a lot longer to finish." I said.

"If we have to head to the dry dock?" Fidel asked.

"We split up, two teams of six. One going to the dry dock, the other staying planet side." I said.

I can heard a buzzer coming from the cockpit. Fidel and I get up and head to the cockpit because that was the alarm warning us that we were nearing our destination. When we dropped but of hyperspace, we were clear across the system. We could barely make out the planet, but the dry dock was easy to make out.

"Why are we all the way out here?" the lead scout asked.

"Two reasons." I said. "If we were to drop out of hyperspace right on top of the planet, they would have scrambled their fighters."

"And the second?" what I guessed to be the second in command asked.

"This is a smuggler ship equipped with a clocking device." I said.

"Nice, but that only works if they don't look out a window," the lead scout said.

"Won't matter because it seems that the fleet is preparing to move out. Look." Fidel said, pointing off in the distance.

While we were arguing, the last of the skiffs were loaded onto the ships and then the fleet jumped to hyperspace. I did a quick scan, and I see that Oryx's men weren't able to get a stable power supply working on the dry dock. "Okay, the first order of business to knock out the power supply to the dry dock. After that we set the self-destruct sequence for the base." I said.

"How much time should we set the self-destruct sequence for?" a scout asked.

"Five minutes." I said.

"Five minutes!" The group exclaimed.

"That's going to be cutting it close don't you think?" Fidel asked.

"We don't have much of a choice, and we have to make sure they can't reverse the sequence." I said.

"How do you want to play this?" the lead scout asked.

"You ten like to move in silence. If you encounter gun fire, you probably did something wrong. So the first thing you're going to do is set the charges at the beam powering the dry dock. After those charges detonate, Fidel and I will keep the ground forces busy until you can set the self-destruct sequence." I said.

"Wow." Fidel said.

"We'll make it quick. We can spare at least two men." The lead scout said.

"That's up to you." I said.

B.b.B.

Hyperspace-

Oryx was aboard his flagship, standing on the bridge looking out into space. Oryx was usually a guarded man, but he knew that the jedi and the resistance wouldn't be able to hold him at bay. His first stop would be to hit the shipping lanes. Once they were under his control he would work his way towards the core.

"Lord Oryx." an admiral in the fleet said, approaching the man.

"Yes." Oryx said, still looking out into space.

"Our projections have us reaching shipping lanes within the hour. From there we can be on the other side of the galaxy in two days' time." she said.

"When we get to the shipping lane, split the fleet up. I want to dominate the outer rims before the resistance and the jedi have a chance to mount an effective resistance." Oryx said.

"Yes, my lord." she said, and then went to dole out the orders.

B.b.B.

Teklalli and Vella met on a planet one system over from Tython because Teklalli walked away from the enclave thirty years ago, and she didn't want to go anywhere near any planet that is currently occupied by the jedi. Master Kallini met with the women personally.

"Master Kallini." Teklalli greeted.

"Teklalli. What do you want to know?" Kallini asked.

"The resistance was just informed by Reimi and Mitra that a jedi, who had been cast out, by the name of Oryx is going to be storming the galaxy. Anything you want to add to that?" Teklalli asked.

"Not really. We sent a team of scouts with Fidel and Ashono, and they went into the Unknown Regions because Oryx has an instillation that he has been using to build up a fleet for over twenty years." Kallini said.

"Twenty years! Don't you think you should have shared that information sooner?" Teklalli asked.

"We just learn of the invasion recently. And what would you have done with that information? Stormed the facility and shut it down?" Kallini asked.

"And this is why I chose to leave the academy. You sat on information that could have saved thousands lives. If you weren't willing to act, then you should have given it to people who would have." Teklalli said, and then walked away.

"It still doesn't change anything." Kallini said.

"Yeah it does, or did you forget that half the galaxy is filled with people who have no control over the force." Teklalli said, and then turned her back on the jedi for good.

Vella asked if there was a message that she could deliver, and Kallini gave Vella the message. After she received the message, Vella left too.


	18. Bound by Blood

The twelve of us scouted the base before we assaulted it. Just to make sure we had an idea on troop numbers, but that didn't last long. Before Fidel and I knew what happened the beam to the dry docks was destroyed, and then a full battalion of troops came to investigate. We shared a look, and then joined the fray. We were able to get the jump on the troops before they could react. I counted eight of the scouts that stay behind to fight the troops. _That leaves two to go set the self-destruct sequence on the base. I hope the destruction is complete._ I think.

The ten of us were able to keep the troops from forming ranks, and setting up a counter-offensive. It worked out in our favor for a time until I felt a disturbance in the Force. I turned to see a Force-sensitive on top of the nearest building, and he was calling out to me. I did a quick scan of the battle field and I could tell that we were beginning to gain the upper hand. I went to engage the interloper. I jumped up to the roof, and he didn't say anything. He drew his weapon, and attacked me. The two of us were evenly matched, and it was a stale mate for the time being. Deep inside the base the two scouts had been slowed by the remaining guards, but it was only momentarily. The pair cleared the last of the guards, and then began to hack the security door. The scouts, a male and female pair, had it down to the science, and were through the door in a matter of minutes.

"What should I set the timer for?" she asked.

"Ten minutes." he said.

"That's a long time." she said.

"I was given a new device to test out." he said.

A few more seconds, and then the woman had finished. The man stepped up to the console, and inserted a disk, and uploaded the program into the system. After he logged out of the console, the sequence went live, and the console shutdown.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"The program given to me shuts down the console for about thirty minutes." he said.

"Let's get to the ship." she said, as they tore out of room.

He tapped a sequence into his wrist band that would start the Night Wing, and engage the autopilot. Something that I wasn't aware of when we flew out here. Back outside, Fidel and rest of the scouts had the troops on the run, while I had put my combatant on the defensive. Next thing I knew, the Night Wing coming towards the base. I could sense the scouts and Fidel preparing to jump onto the Night Wing. I disengaged from the duel, and Force Pushed the man off the roof. I ran and jumped onto the landing ramp of the Night Wing mere seconds before the rest of the group jumped up. The last scout raised the landing ramp just as I was entering the cockpit. I didn't even hit the pilots chair, I pulled the throttle through the Force, taking us off world.

"I appreciate the quick pick up, but I want you to disable that start sequence when you get a chance." I said.

"We will." one of the scouts said.

"We might have some use for it later." Fidel said.

I shot Fidel a glance, and then entered the coordinates into the nav computer.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there?" asked a scout.

"Yep." I said.

I look off into the distance as we exited the planets gravity well. we all saw that the dry dock was falling apart, and disintegrating as it reentered the planet's atmosphere.

"Is there any way someone could rebuild here?" Fidel asked.

"It will take them years to rebuild." I said.

I saw the light flash that the coordinates had been accepted by the computer, and then jumped us to hyperspace. I turned to face the scouts, as we thought about our next move.

"What should we do next?" I asked.

"The fleet was massive. Oryx could split up, and still have enough of a force to dominate half the galaxy." the lead scout said.

"We don't need to take out the entire fleet. We just need to kill Oryx." Fidel said.

"A jedi talking about killing another being is against our teachings." another scout said.

"We might have been trained by the jedi, but we stopped being jedi a long time ago." I said.

"What are you saying?" the lead scout asked.

"If you actually studied history, there were no jedi or sith at first. There was only the Force." one of the scouts said.

"What are you saying?" the lead scout asked.

"The first force-user enclave sent out those who were too far to either end of the spectrum." Fidel said.

"So what are you saying that we should do? Abandon our posts, and be our own masters?" the lead scout asked.

"That's a question only you can answer." I said.

B.b.B.

Oryx's flagship-

"Lord Oryx." A general approached Oryx with news.

"What is it, General Rix?" Oryx asked.

"We just received a transmission that the base in the Unknown Regions has just been destroyed, and the dry dock is reentering the atmosphere." Rix said.

There was a moment of silence before Oryx spoke again. "Do you know where the rebel base is locate?" Oryx asked.

"I'm sorry my lord, but I don't. All I know is that it's in the Outer Rim towards the northern half of the galaxy." Rix said.

"We'll split the fleet in two. I'll take a small contingent and go after the rebel base, while you take the rest of the fleet and cause trouble elsewhere." Oryx said.

"Yes, Lord Oryx." Rix said.

As Oryx opened a line to the fleet, General Rix went to a locker in the hanger bay. In the locker was a device that was created to send out a pulse that could only be picked on certain frequencies. Rix activated the device, shut the locker, shoved the locker into the wall, and the replaced the panel.

"General Rix." a subordinate called out.

"Yes." Rix said.

"Oryx wants you to start attacking the Outer Rim near Tatooine, and then head Core ward." She said.

"At Lord Oryx's command." Rix said.

"Is everything ready?" she asked.

"Just need to prep the fleet once we leave hyperspace. All other preparations have been made." Rix said.

"Good luck General Rix." she said.

"Same to you." Rix said.

Rix made his way towards the upper level of the hanger bay, and prepped a shuttle so he could transfer to another ship. When the fleet left hyperspace, Rix transferred ships, and then fleet split off in two separate directions.

B.b.B.

Rebel base-

In the radio room of the rebel base, the radio operator was picking up a signal that he was told to listen for. He wrote down the coordinates, and then pass it on up the chain. The last person to see it was Zenirr Nelniei. "How good are these?" she asked.

"Accurate. I'm tracking the ship right now." the radio operator.

Zenirr looked over the coordinates, and saw that Oryx's projected path was to the northern half of the galaxy. "Transmit coordinates to the Night Wing. The sooner they get involved, the sooner this galaxy can move on." Zenirr said.

"What's the plan?" Reimi asked.

"Your boyfriends are our only hope." Zenirr said.

"That won't be as problem." Mitra said entering the room.

"Here's hoping." Zenirr said. Zenirr then picked up a com device. "Councilor."

" _Yes, Zenirr._ " The councilor answered.

"The beacon has been sent to Night Wing." Zenirr said.

" _Thank you. Inform us when the Night Wing enters the field._ " the councilor said.

"Will do." Zenirr said, and then ended the call.

B.b.B.

Night Wing-

"Ashono!" Fidel yelled from the cockpit.

I was sitting in the day room with the scouts when Fidel called, and then made my way towards the cockpit.

"What?" I asked, upon entering.

"The board started beeping a few seconds ago." Fidel said.

I realized that we had an incoming transmission, and I was kind of taken back because we were still in hyperspace. I opened the line, and we got nothing. I turned the monitor on, and saw a line of numbers.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Probably coordinates that need to be entered into the nav computer." one of the scouts said.

"Uploading." Fidel said.

It took us a few moments for the computer to process the coordinates, but when the computer accepted the code we saw that it was coded to a ship. The location of the ship was on the northern half of the galaxy.

"What's the plan?" a scout asked.

"It was sent by the pilot from the rebels." Fidel said.

"Oryx's ship?" the lead scout asked.

"That would be my guess." I said.

"What's the plan?" the same scout asked.

"Getting onto Oryx's ship is the hard part. This ship is capable of beating radar." I said.

"Compliments of the mercenaries we stole it from…" Fidel trailed off.

"I highly doubt they had codes to Oryx's fleet." I said.

"Only one way to find out." a scout said.

"Not a chance that I want to take." I said.

I brought up the codes saved in the database. I scrolled through them looking for any that I don't recognize. I found two. One was the code I used to dock on the Chimera over a year ago, and another code that's similar to it. There was a moment of silence while I contemplated the next move.

"What's the worst that could happen?" a scout asked.

"Our children will be raised without their fathers." Fidel said.

"You have us. We could create a distraction while you make your way to Oryx." the lead scout said.

"It seems that our next decision is already made for us." I said, as the computer was beeping to let us know that we were about to drop out of hyperspace.

Fidel was uploading the new coordinates into the nav computer in preparation for when we return to normal space. The moment we returned to normal space we were surrounded by a portion of Oryx's fleet.

"Get us out of here!" shouted a scout.

"Fidel!" I exclaimed.

"Uploading." Fidel said.

"While we wait." I said, gunning the engines.

I wasn't about to wait for the fleet to launch its fighters. I checked sensors for any sign of activity, but there wasn't any.

 _What._ I thought.

"Coordinates have been accepted." Fidel said.

I jumped us right to hyperspace without a moment's hesitation. "You guys a see that?" I asked.

"Yeah." the lead scout said.

"They had to have seen us." Fidel said.

"You think it's a set up?" another scout asked.

"We'll find out when we get there." I said.

I checked the nav computer for time of arrival: four hours.

"Get some shut eye. For once we arrive, it's going to be the end of the road." I said.

B.b.B.

Rebel fleet in hyperspace-

"Is this a wise?" Zenirr asked.

"We need to buy enough time for Ashono and Fidel to get here. If that means we go and attack Oryx's fleet head on, so be it." said the rebel general.

"I'm not arguing, but this is a little extreme." Zenirr said.

"General Rix said that Oryx split his fleet up. At the moment General Rix is engaged in battle with a few different fleet, and that Oryx has about six ships total." a female aid said.

"Those six ships aren't going to be push overs." Zenirr said.

" _We just have to delay them long enough for Ashono and Fidel to arrive._ " A councilor said on the vid screen.

"It's a good thing we brought the whole fleet then." One of Zenirr's subordinates said.

"We're approaching the rally point. Head down to your ships. See you on the other side councilor." the general said, as Zenirr and her subordinate left. The general's aid opened a channel to the whole fleet and told them to prepare for battle.

" _General._ " the councilor said as he disconnected.

Every fighter was to their ships, and ready launch the moment the fleet dropped out of hyperspace. Five minutes later Oryx's fleet had exited hyperspace, and came under fire by the rebel fighter's that were waiting for them.

B.b.B.

General Rix's location

"General Rix, we have lost all power! And we have fighter buzzing the bridge!" a nervous admiral said rushing about the bridge.

"What are our options?" Rix asked.

"We go down fighting. We have the greater numbers. It's what Oryx would expect of us." the admiral said.

There was a beeping that could be heard throughout the bridge. A few minutes later Rix heard. "Everyone us in position and awaits your command, sir."

"What do they mean by in position?" the admiral asked.

"This is going to sting when you wake up." Rix said, and then shot the admiral with a blaster set to stun.

Two men removed the admiral from the bridge. "Send a message to the flagship of other the fleet. Coordinates entered and ready to jump to light speed on their command." Rix said.

Rix linked his fleet up to the rebel fleet, and the two fleets jumped to light speed. The jump to the system where the main rebel fleet and Oryx's fleet were fighting was just over two hours, and when they arrived the fleets launched their fighter to help level the battle field. Oryx had superior fire power, but General Rix had the most fighters.

"Sir, we are being hailed by Lord Oryx." the radio operator said.

"Put him through." Rix said.

" _Bold move General Rix, but it won't be enough to save the rebel fleet._ " Oryx said.

"We have enough fighters to keep you busy for an hour, or so." Rix said.

" _Just an hour. That's not very long._ " Oryx said.

"Maybe, maybe not. But you really didn't ask the most pertinent question?" Rix said.

" _What's that?_ " Oryx said.

General Rix didn't answer because he heard talking in the background, and then the line went dead.

B.b.B.

Night Wing, forty minutes earlier-

What should have been a two hour jump turned into a four hour one. "Anybody want to explain why we took the scenic route to get here?" I asked.

"Take a look at the two fleets engaged battle at the moment." the lead scout said.

At that moment I realized that the scouts were actually loyal to Teklalli. "Teklalli knew that were going to need help, and sent the ten of you to the academy on Tython." I said.

"The coordinates we received four hours ago came from Zenirr, who received them from a double agent inside Oryx's fleet." the female scout said.

Fidel and I shared a look, and then I gunned the engines towards Oryx's flagship. As we were approaching Oryx's ship, I noticed that he left the docking bays opened. "For the record, this is way too easy." I said.

"Noted." the lead scout said.

"We can sabotage ship if it makes you happy." another scout said.

"That would be greatly appreciated." Fidel said.

When the Night Wing landed, the twelve of us stepped off the ship and went our separate ways. Fidel and I made our way towards the turbo lift as the scouts went to do what they do best. The lift door shut, and then shot us up.

"Do we go in with our weapons drawn?" Fidel asked.

"Doesn't matter really." I said.

A few seconds later, the door opened onto a full bridge.

"What's that?" Oryx asked.

"How did you get in here?" asked one of his subordinates.

I watched as Oryx killed the line. "Who are you?" Oryx asked.

"Ashono Vhett." I said.

"Fidel Ors." Fidel said.

Oryx took one look at us, and then spoke. "Clear the room." Oryx said.

Everyone on the bridge except the three of us cleared the bridge. Oryx unleashed a Force attack that destroyed the turbo lift. I simply sidestepped the attack, while Fidel dived out of the way. The three of us drew our weapons, and they blazed to life. Oryx waited for Fidel and me to make the first move. Fidel was the first to attack, and Oryx didn't have much a problem weathering his attacks. It's when I engaged him that Oryx realized that he was in trouble. Oryx was put on the defensive the moment I attacked. Oryx attack with his lightsaber and Force powers in equal measure.

As our fight started to approach the thirty minute mark Oryx decide to pull out another saber to even the odds, but I decide to up the ante. I pulled out my second saber and combine the two weapons. When the black saber blazed to life, Oryx was taken back by the blade.

"I've known only one man to own a black saber." Oryx said.

"I grabbed it from the academy on the moon of Yavin IV." I said.

"That academy is still around? Wow." Oryx said.

"That academy was destroyed last year." Fidel said.

"By Darth Cauis." I said.

"So you are the child that bested my lieutenant. This is going to be a good fight." Oryx said.

"No it won't." I said.

"Why not? You think this isn't some fight for the fate of the galaxy?" Oryx asked.

"That's not what he's saying." Fidel said, and then renewed the fight.

"Then what are you saying?" Oryx asked.

"This is more of duty for me." I Said.

"So what." Oryx said.

"You might say that I'm finishing the job that was given to my father." I said.

It took Oryx a few minutes to realize what I was saying. In Oryx mind he drew the connection. He saw that Cauis had a child before he became his servant, and standing in front of him, putting up the biggest challenge that he ever had, was Cauis son. Oryx let out a barking laugh as he Force pushed the two of us away. Oryx had summoned electrical Force energy and it arced from his hand towards Fidel, incapacitating him. I could sense Fidel wasn't dead, but he was in extreme pain. Oryx shot more electrical energy from his hand at me, but I blocked it with my lightsaber. Oryx, even though evil to his core, deactivated one of his sabers and returned it to his belt. I pulled my weapon apart, deactivated my main light saber, and hooked it to my belt.

"What makes you so special?" Oryx asked as he attacked.

It took me a few moments before I answered. "You might say that I'm bound by blood to finish the job that my father started." I said.

Outside in space, Oryx fleet is started to get the rebels on the run. The rebel fighters had destroyed every last fighter in Oryx's fleet, but the big cruisers are wreaking havoc in rebel fleet. A few moments later, the tide began to turn in the rebels favor. Through the Force augmentation, the pilots were beginning to cripple Oryx's fleet.

Back on Oryx's flagship, the three of us could feel the surge of Force energy affecting the battle out in space. Oryx pushed me away from him, so he could see the final defeat of his forces. I could sense the rage building in him. Twenty years of hard work, all for naught. I looked at Fidel, and saw that he had entered a healing trance but his saber was still on the ground. I knew what my plan was, and would act on it when the moment appeared.

Oryx came at me with everything he had, and through the Force I could sense the glee that was rolling off of him in waves. Oryx thought he had the better of me. I was so careless that I let Oryx get to good lightsaber attacks on me. One on my right arm, and the other on my left thigh. The wounds were superficial, but they still hurt and disabled those to limbs. Oryx Force pushed me away like a rag doll. I hit the wall, and then crash on the floor getting the wind knocked out of me. I quickly channel the Force to repair my wounds, but I know that I won't be able to completely heal them before Oryx gets to me.

"Any last words?" Oryx asked.

"Goodbye." I said, and then reached out with the Force.

Oryx was stupefied by my words that he didn't sense the lightsaber coming towards him at blinding speed. I activated the lightsaber, and I could see the blue blade impale Oryx through the chest. Just as Oryx was beginning to collapse I Force pushed him away from me. I was able to make it to a sitting position, and I saw Fidel staring at me.

"What?" I said.

"You could have asked." Fidel said, flatly

"You were busy using a healing trance. I didn't want to bother you." I said, exasperated by what I just heard.

At that moment, four of the scouts entered the bridge. "We have to go. The ship is set to explode in five minutes." the female scout said.

"How were you able to set the self-destruct sequence from any place beside the bridge?" I asked, struggling to get to my feet.

"We have our ways." One of the others scouts said, as he came over to help me to my feet.

"We're not going to ask." Fidel said.

The six of us exited the bridge, and then boarded the Night Wing. We were half way to the rebel fleet when Oryx's ship had self-destructed.

B.b.B.

Five days later-

Fidel and I were prepping the Night Wing for departure. Mitra and Reimi were sitting on crates, resting their pregnant bodies. They shot us seductive looks every once and while, but Fidel and I were able to resist engaging them. Just as we finished loading the ship, we were approached by Teklalli and a few councilors.

"You're ready to leave?" the head councilor asked.

"Yes, we'll be leaving shortly." Fidel said.

"Are you sure we can't talk you into stay?" a councilors aid asked.

"No you can't." Reimi said.

"Why?" another councilor asked.

"We have spent our time in politics, and we've had our fill." Mitra said.

"Why?" the head councilor asked.

"I tried to warn him." Teklalli said.

"We've seen enough war, and toxic politics to last a lifetime. There will always be wars, there's nothing we can do about that. We've fought our wars, but the next generation will need leadership and guidance for when the time comes. If our children want to join the fight we won't stop them, but we have done our part." I said.

"Where will you go?" Teklalli asked.

"Not sure, but we'll know when we get there." I said.

I turned to see that Mitra and Fidel had already boarded, but Reimi was waiting at the top of the ramp for me. I boarded, shut the hatch and raised the ramp, and then made my way towards the cockpit. Fidel had already started the engines as I was making my way towards the cockpit. I lifted off from the landing pad, and then left the planet.

B.b.B.

Eighty years later-

After leaving the rebels, and polite society behind we found a little farming colony on a planet just inside the Unknown Regions. I sensed that there were other Force users in the colony. The four of us fit in with colony, and we raised our children. We each had two children, a boy and a girl each, who, when they were old enough, went to rejoin the rest of the galaxy. The four of us never left that quiet, little planet. We had no reason to. Fidel, Mitra, Reimi and I all lived to be one hundred years old before we died, and in that time the known galaxy had known three wars. Our children came to say goodbye to us as we died. Fidel was the first to die, then Mitra, Reimi followed her. On the day I died I told my son. _Be your own person. Don't get dragged into any needless war if you can help it._ I said.

 _And If I can't?_ he asked.

 _Just don't lose you way, and follow a dark path like your grandfather did._ I warned.

 _What was Grandfather Katarn like?_ he asked.

 _I never knew my father when he was Shikora Katarn. I only knew him as Darth Cauis, but I know you will succeed._ I said.

We could feel my life begin to fade, and all my son did was kiss me on the forehead. _Tell your sister that I love her. And know that I love you, my son._ I said.

 _I love you to dad._ he said.

And then I passed on from this life. I was buried in the cemetery next to Reimi. The one thing I never learned, but my son told his sister and Fidel and Mitra's children, was that rebels had sent a flag to be buried with our bodies. Mitra, Fidel, Reimi and I had all been buried with the rebel flag that was used when we were serving. Our children went to serve at the Jedi academy, as well as advisors for the government.

Centuries have past, even a millennia, and the galaxy still talks, even whispered, about the fall of Darth Cauis and Oryx. The galaxy had forgotten our names, but a few still remember still. Our sacrifices have been recorded as a reminder to the coming generations so they don't forget, and repeat the sins of their fathers.


End file.
